


Transposition

by Moon_Suzaku



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-17
Updated: 2017-03-01
Packaged: 2018-04-15 05:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 51,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4594611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moon_Suzaku/pseuds/Moon_Suzaku
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the new age neared, preparations had to be made. What the Senshi were not prepared for was the re-entering of former enemies who had once been allies. Can Crystal Tokyo be successfully built? Or will past differences haunt them forever?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer** : Anything you recognize from Sailor Moon belongs to Naoko Takeuchi, Toei, and any other companies associated with the Sailor Moon label. I own nothing except for the plot. I'm just borrowing the characters to play around with.
> 
> **A/N** : This is probably based more on Classics and manga than Crystal, set after Stars, since I want to do something where the Senshi and the Shitennou did not have actual relationships during the Silver Millennium. We'll see how things work out as the chapters go on.
> 
> I don't have any betas for this, so any errors are mine.
> 
> Reviews are love, constructive criticisms are welcomed, and flames will be used as a source of entertainment.

 

**Chapter 1**

It happened a week before Christmas.

Light snow was creating a dreamlike haze around the streets of Tokyo and slowly covering the streets with a thin blanket of white.

A princess and her prince—correction, the future queen of the Earth and her king, a priest, eight warriors, and two cats were sitting in the living room of Mamoru's apartment. The news Helios had delivered had received different facial reactions from the people present, ranging from "surprise" to "murder-happy rage", and had yet to draw out a comment.

The second and minute hands of the cuckoo clock (featuring a prince and a princess dancing when the correct hour was reached) continued to tick by, and yet no one could say a word yet.

"Nobody needs them." Haruka Tenoh was the first to react, but her words were soon followed by comments from the others.

"We've been protecting the Earth quite well ourselves for the past couple of years, thank you very much."

"Isn't Crystal Tokyo just around the corner? What are we going to need them for? Butlers?"

"We don't need any help from  _them_  out of all people."

"If we don't use them for butlers, I guess we can always use them as target practice."

"The only help we can possibly get from them is if we are itching to get stabbed in the back."

"Everybody," Usagi spoke up, her delicate features scrunched up into a frown. "Please, can't you just wait for Helios to explain?"

"He was obviously waiting for our reactions. Notice the pause he left after throwing that bomb of a news on us," Haruka said, looking at Helios from the corner of her eye.

"I simply thought that you might need some time for the suggestion to settle in," Helios answered.

"Bullshit." Haruka's eyes narrowed, and Michiru placed a hand on hers as if attempting to calm her temper.

"Perhaps I'd taken the wrong approach," Helios said with a smile.

"Well, seeing that what you said could be translated to 'Hey, people! Do you mind if the Shitennou came back to life?', yeah, I think that's probably not the best approach," Makoto said with a snort.

"And for the record, yes, we do mind," Artemis added, casting a quick look at Minako.

"Perhaps we're jumping to conclusions," Ami spoke up. She gazed at Helios. "Is there a particular reason why you want to bring them back to life?"

"It's probably our King's suggestion," Haruka answered.

Before Mamoru could speak up, Helios did, though the calm expression remained unwavered. "No, it's not. I was the one who suggested it to Prince Endymion. If I may explain why I'd made this suggestion?"

The atmosphere in the room remained tense. However, the curiosity was undeniable. After all, Helios was the high priest of Elysion, so he wouldn't endanger the Earth for no reason.

"As you may know, each planet has its own protector in the form of a Sailor Senshi. A planet's well-being is directly connected to the crystal that is held by each and every one of you. As your power grow, so does the vitality of the planet," Helios said, looking at each person in turn. When his eyes landed on Setsuna, they exchanged a brief smile. "I wouldn't be very surprised if there will be reports of the possibility of life on your respective homeworlds in the near future."

"What does this have to do with the Shitennou?" Ami asked, her interest piqued.

"Sailor crystals were never meant to be wielded by men, which is why every Sailor Senshi you encounter are women," Helios explained. "The only exception is the Prince, but of course, you know that he cannot transform into a Sailor Senshi and never will."

The sudden image of Mamoru donning a fuku popped into each and every mind present. It visibly lessened the tension inside the room, though a faint pink now colored Mamoru's cheeks.

"The true reason why the Golden Crystal did not produce a Sailor Senshi remains a mystery, but it may very well be tied to an old Elysian legend, concerning the creation of the Shitennou," Helios continued. "According to the legend, during a specific battle, the true wielder of the Golden Crystal was mortally wounded and the crystal itself was chipped. Before anyone could investigate further, the wielder died and the Crystal, along with the four pieces that had fallen from it, disappeared. Years later, five individuals were born. It was a time of chaos and kingdoms were at constant war with one another. These five individuals vowed to bring peace and happiness back to Earth, and finally, after years of battle, they accomplished their goal."

"These five people must be the wielder of the Golden Crystal and the pieces that fell off it!" Makoto exclaimed.

Helios nodded with a smile. "Indeed, they were. After they brought the Earth under one kingdom, the one who led them to their final victory was crowned king. To thank the four who had provided him with help and strength throughout the war, he named them the 'Shitennou'. Ever since then, whenever the true wielder of the Golden Crystal was born, so would the Shitennou, and vice versa."

"So Mamo-chan had been a woman before?" Usagi asked curiously.

"Usako …" Mamoru groaned.

"Sorry, but for the past couple of centuries the Earth had been doing fine without them. In fact, it probably would've been even better if they hadn't been around harming it," Rei pointed out.

"As I'd mentioned before, a planet's well-being depends on its respective crystal. As long as the Shitennou remain in their bodiless form, the Earth will remain unstable," Helios stated. "Furthermore, regardless of your military experiences in your past lives, most of you are more acquainted with fighting alongside your allies against monsters. You hardly possess the knowledge of leading armies against humans."

The truth of his words hit closer to home than was expected, and for a moment, everyone sat in silence.

"We've … led our own armies before," Minako protested in a small voice.

"Against non-humans, yes. But can you really tell me that you can lead armies to fight against human beings?" Helios countered.

"Wait, who said anything about going to war?" Makoto asked with a frown.

"I cannot predict the future, but humans do not normally take well to change. It is impossible for the utopia of the new Silver Millennium to be created without resistance against it," Helios explained. "The legend has been proven time and time again, the wielder of the Golden Crystal needs his Shitennou in order to maintain the peace and stability of Earth."

"Considering how well it went the last time around, I can see why," Haruka said wryly.

For the first time that day, Helios's eyes dimmed upon remembering past events. "Beryl corrupted them from within. If the Shitennou had maintained their faith in the Prince, the Golden Kingdom wouldn't have fallen so easily."

"Who's to say it wouldn't happen again?" Luna asked. "Can we really risk the stability of the future by bringing the four of them back? What if they get corrupted again?"

"Which is why they need to find their way back," Helios answered. "With the coming of the new Silver Millennium, Neo-Queen Serenity will be cleansing the survivors with the Silver Crystal. The Shitennou would have to find their way back to Prince Endymion's side and swear their loyalty to him before this happens."

"You're trying to fight against destiny," Rei said in disbelief, "against the karmic circle."

Helios nodded, while most of the others sported confused expressions.

"There's a very fine line between failure and success," Michiru said mildly. "Are you sure you want to take that risk?"

"Wait, what in the world is karmic circle?" Makoto asked.

"And what do you mean by they would need to find their way back to Mamoru-san's side?" Luna asked.

"It's the theory of the cause and effect that follows us through different reincarnations. It dictates that whatever we do in the past lives will have a direct influence on what we do in the future, so more likely than not, we would often choose the same path as we did in our previous lives," Ami explained.

"But Mamo-chan and I, we changed it, didn't we? So that means that it's possible for the Shitennou to choose a different path this time around, too, right?" Usagi asked brightly.

"Always the optimistic one, Princess," Haruka said with an indulgent smile and shake of her head.

"So there's still the chance that they might still betray Mamoru-san and Usagi-chan," Luna pointed out, distrust written all over her feline features.

"But there's always the chance that they won't," Usagi said. "And Mamo-chan needs his guy friends! They can't always remain inside pieces of rocks and appear as spirits all the time."

Suddenly, everyone's eyes were on their princess.

"They were around all this time? And you haven't told us?" Minako asked, hurt appearing momentarily in her eyes.

Usagi shook her head. "I didn't know until Helios approached us yesterday about this." She looked at Mamoru.

"I hadn't told Usako about it until last night. They've been with me since the battle with Queen Metallia as rocks. They appear to me in a spirit-like form whenever I call to them," Mamoru said. He took a deep breath. "I understand how hard it is to have our former enemies fight alongside with us. I'm not excusing them for what they had done. However, I feel that they deserve a second chance. They were good men in the past and don't deserve to be condemned just because they'd made the wrong choice because of the wrong information."

"They had been given a second chance already, Mamoru-san," Artemis reminded him.

"It wasn't really a second chance," Helios spoke up. "When they were reincarnated on to Earth, they were still plagued by the curse that was set upon them by Beryl and Metallia. It wasn't until Sailor Moon, Princess Serenity defeated Metallia that they were completely freed from their dark curse."

"They wouldn't have gotten in that situation if they hadn't betrayed Mamoru-san in the first place," Rei commented coolly.

"Their doubt in the Prince had been their downfall, but I can assure you that before they were infused with dark powers from Metallia, they remained loyal to the Prince and the Golden Kingdom," Helios stressed.

"They were worried. They didn't know what changes might be made if Earth had joined the Silver Alliance and they were fed lies," Mamoru added.

"If there's one thing you can't cure, it's stupidity," Artemis scoffed.

"But is it a crime punishable by eternal damnation?" Mamoru asked.

At that, nobody could immediately answer. Some looked like they were ready to answer "yes", but bit it back just in time they said something they would regret later.

"Well, if you've already decided to bring them back to life, there's really no reason to ask for our opinions," Haruka said, raising her eyebrow at them.

"It's not about me or Helios. We just want to give them a chance, one final chance," Mamoru said, "and we don't want to do this behind everybody's back without any explanations about why we are doing this."

"And we're still not very sure about what you mean by the Shitennou having to find their way back to you," Ami said, echoing Luna's previous question.

"They had families before they were corrupted by Beryl this lifetime," Helios explained. "By the power of the Golden Crystal and the Silver Crystal, they would be given new bodies, but their memories of the past would be altered, so they would believe that they are ordinary men."

"So how would they find their way back to Mamoru-san's side? And wouldn't it be easier if they just retain their memories and let them choose right here and now?" Makoto asked.

Helios shook his head. "The passage of finding themselves is a necessary part to the ritual of breaking their connection to Beryl permanently and giving them the true rebirth they need. They need to follow down the path that they should've chosen if they hadn't been altered by Beryl and Metallia's powers."

"I'm not asking for you to forgive them for what they had done immediately. However, I hope that you will be willing to give them a chance. They were good men before they were brainwashed and some of the things they had done weren't … they would never had done those things if they hadn't been brainwashed," Mamoru said.

Everyone remained silent for a while, immersed in their own thoughts.

"I think …" Minako said slowly, and Artemis looked at her in alarm. However, ignoring his glance, she said in a louder voice. "I'm willing to give them a chance."

The other people in the room looked at her, and seconds later, Ami nodded.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt giving them a chance," she said. "If they can't defeat us back then, I doubt they stand a chance against us."

Makoto nodded as well. "We're not the same people we were when we first faced them. We have more experience than they do and we're much more powerful now." She gazed at Rei.

Rei raised her eyebrow. "Don't look at me. I don't like this idea at all." Her eyes landed on Usagi and, after a while, they softened. "But if our Princess thinks it's a good idea, then I'm willing to give it a try."

Usagi beamed at her and within two bounds, she had the girl in her arms. "Rei-chan!"

Disapproval and loyalty warred inside Haruka's eyes as she watched the happy expression on Usagi's face. In the end, she sighed deeply. "I'm going to regret this." Giving Mamoru and Helios both a hard look, she said, "If they do something out of line, they won't be the only ones regretting that decision."

Mamoru's eyes were tumultuous, but after a short while, he gave her a short nod.

"Have you decided when to bring them back?" Ami asked.

"Perhaps this coming full moon," Helios informed.

Sticking her hands in her pants pockets, Haruka stood up. "Since we have all the details worked out, I should get going. Take care of yourself, Princess. Let us know if we need to be around to kick their butts." She subtly glanced at Helios and Mamoru, letting them know without words that regardless of what she said, she would be keeping an eye out for the reborned Shitennou, ready to kill whenever she needed to.

"Haruka!" Michiru gently chided her for the language she'd used in front of Hotaru who giggled.

Haruka gave her a smile, and the four Outer Senshi exited the room. Before Setsuna left, she gave Mamoru and Usagi a kind smile.

"I can't tell from Setsuna-san's expression if this is going to work out or not," Minako said with a frown, her eyes still where the Time Senshi had been standing a few seconds ago.

"If that's going to be your source for fortune-telling, you'll be a horrible seer," Rei said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N** : Thank you for all the kind reviews and I hope you like this chapter as well.

 

**Chapter 2**

It wasn't being disloyal.

At least, in Ami Mizuno's dictionary, what they planned to do was far from being disloyal. As one of the guardians to the Princess of the Moon (and future Queen of the Earth), she felt that they was entitled to learn all about their enemies—scratch that, their future  _ **allies**_. What had once been the job of certain advisors to the Moon hailing from the planet of Mau was now Ami's, and it didn't take too long for the other Senshi to remind her to get to it—though in nicer and much more playful words.

Despite the look of innocence on Haruka's face, the other Senshi had mutually agreed that it probably wasn't the best idea for her to know whatever information Ami could dig up about the Shitennou.

"It's not like I'm going to bomb their houses," the Uranian soldier had said with a roll of her eye.

"We're actually afraid that you'll do something even worse than that," Rei had quipped back.

"And you know you would help me it," Haruka jokingly said.

Both Michiru and Setsuna had graciously declined to joining them. Though Ami suspected that they most likely already know something about the Shitennou, she felt it pushy to ask. She hoped, for Mamoru and Helios's sakes, that they wouldn't share that information with Haruka.

Hotaru hadn't said much on the subject but had promised that if the Shitennou were a danger to Usagi and Mamoru, she would join them in hunting them down.

However, it turned out that they had been cautious for nothing. Absolutely no information could be dug up about the Shitennou. Nothing could be found about the Shitennou during the Golden Kingdom and nothing could be found about the lives they had led this lifetime before they were corrupted again.

"I thought the computer should have any information available," Makoto said with a confused frown.

"Not if someone tampered with the records before we decided to look them up," Ami said darkly.

"Are you suspecting Helios or Mamoru-san?" Minako asked, peering at her.

Ami shook her head. "I doubt they have the ability to wipe them off the system so permanently and thoroughly."

"What about Luna and Artemis?" Rei asked.

Ami shook her head again. "They have no reasons to do this. I didn't get the impression that they were too keen on having the Shitennou back to life during the discussion."

"Is it possible for the Dark Kingdom to somehow hack into the system?" Makoto asked.

Ami thought about that possibility for a while before nodding. "That's a possibility. It would've prevented us from gathering more information than necessary while they were under the power of the Dark Kingdom."

"What about that name that Nephrite used? While he was attacking the three of you?" Minako asked, snapping her fingers as she tried to recall what they had told her.

"Masato Sanjoin?" Rei provided.

"Yeah!" Minako confirmed with a nod. She looked at Ami. "Do you think it might be a connection to his identity before he got brainwashed again?"

Ami tilted her head thoughtfully. "I'm not certain, but I can definitely try to see if there's anything on the computer."

With that said, she turned her attention back to the computer.

* * *

"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru peered at the Time Senshi with curiosity in her eyes as they walked home.

"Yes, Hotaru-chan?" Setsuna asked, looking at her surrogate daughter.

"You do know where the Shitennou are being trasposed to, don't you?" Hotaru asked. "And you do know what the outcome is, too, don't you?"

A small laugh escaped from Setsuna. "I don't recall you speaking with Small Lady recently, Hotaru-chan."

A playful smile appeared on Hotaru's face. "I didn't say I know anything about the future, Setsuna-mama."

Setsuna patted her on the head before she mulled over the situation.

A solemn expression dawned on her face as she spoke, "The future is at a turning point right now, Hotaru-chan. There are many different timelines and right now … the decision of each person will determine their own future. I will only know which timeline we're living in when certain events has occurred."

Hotaru tilted her head to one side in thought and seemed to understand as her expression, too, turned grave.

Setsuna looked towards the full moon hanging low in the horizon and watched as a streak of light, too quick for most humans to notice, flew towards the sky before disappearing. A familiar sense of dread washed over her, the feeling that accompanied her whenever she took risks towards protecting those whom she cared about.

_The future is in your hands now, each and every one of you. Please make the right decisions._

* * *

Perhaps she was being unnecessarily paranoid, but Rei found it extremely suspicious that each and every one of the Senshi had not been present at the ritual that would bring the Shitennou back to life.

"You're thinking too much into it," Makoto had told her when the four Inner Senshi had met up for a private meeting at the park. "If the ritual could be sabotaged so easily, I doubt Mamoru-san would have even told us about it in the first place, politeness be damned."

What Makoto said made sense, but Rei still find it strange that the Outers were busy as well.

"Haruka-papa wanted to be there," Hotaru had told her before giggling, "but I don't think Helios or Mamoru-san would have liked that."

And so, they were left with next to no clues in regards to who the reborn Shitennou would be. "Masato Sanjoin" turned out to be just as much help as typing in "Shitennou"—there were hardly any useful information about him and it would have only been helpful if they were interested in eighty-year-old gardeners whom had passed away more than ten years ago.

"Did Sanjoin-san have any sons or relatives?" Minako had asked.

It turned out that the man had been a loner and did not keep in touch with any of his family members.

"It makes sense if Nephrite wanted a cover that wouldn't make people suspicious of him," Ami had analyzed.

And so, nothing happened for the next couple of months (unless you counted the occasional youma). Things turned out so incredibly normal that the Senshi, more or less, started to feel less anxious. Perhaps the Shitennou would not show up at all, though by now, Rei had no idea if that would be a blessing or a curse. Helios had made things seem so dire if the Shitennou did not return to Mamoru's side, and the last thing the Senshi wanted was chaos, no pun intended.

Early March marked graduation time. It was a rainy day and squelching sounds could be heard whenever someone walked around the auditorium. Despite the dreadful weather, Rei was happy. She was graduating and she was meeting up with her sisters in everything but blood tonight for a celebration. So, she would have been fully content with just having her grandfather there for her.

It turned out that life had many more surprises for her.

With her eyes wide and her mouth slightly opened, she stared at her father, whom was sitting a couple of seats away from her grandfather. For a short moment, her mind was completely blank and she could not tell if she were happy or upset that he had decided to grace her with his presence on this day.

She wondered if that meant he would not be meeting her for her birthday this year.

"My little granddaughter is all grown up now," her grandfather said as he bawled his eyes out after the ceremony ended.

"Jii-san!" Rei gently chided, her cheeks pink as she gazed around, afraid of the attention the scene would garner.

Nonetheless, a warm feeling spread throughout her body causing an indulgent smile to blossom on her face.

Then, she caught sight of her father approaching them. Unsurprisingly, her grandfather excused himself and walked away. She only hoped that he wouldn't be courting one of her classmates.

"Congratulations," her father said when he was finally standing in front of her.

The smile on his face was proud, but she could not tell if he were being sincere or not. Maybe it was because there was the possibility of paparazzis nearby.

"Thank you," she replied courteously.

They walked around in silence, each holding their own umbrellas, and stopped under a line of trees. Her mind sarcastically reminded her that their interactions was probably colder than that of strangers. It was such a huge contrast to the short exchange she'd just had with her grandfather and she couldn't bring herself to pretend that she wasn't the least bit hurt.

The discomfort continued to grow, particularly as she watched other students interact with their own families.

 _It's no wonder why the pouring rain cannot affect their feelings of elation_ , Rei thought bitterly.

She couldn't remember when was the last time she had felt so alone. Even during her birthday dinners, she had never felt so distant from her father. Perhaps it was because she had already prepared for it in advance. Perhaps it was because it was such a routine motion that it no longer had any effect on her anymore, while she had not been expecting her father at all today.

Or was it because she was getting so accustomed to having happiness and friends surrounding her?

" _Rei-chan!"_

Usagi's voice echoed in her head and a smile appeared on her face, almost instantaneously washing her unhappiness away. She took in a deep breath and straightened herself up.

"Thank you for coming to my graduation," she said to her father.

He seemed grateful for the silence to end and his body noticeably relaxed. "It's … not a problem. Work wasn't as busy as usual today … Perhaps we can have dinner tonight together?"

After a short moment of hesitation, Rei shook her head. "I … my friends and I are celebrating tonight."

He seemed shocked by the news that Rei had friends and it took all her strength to not smile wryly at him.

"Your friends?" he repeated.

"Yes, my friends," she answered calmly.

A frown appeared and disappeared on his face so quickly that Rei nearly did not notice it. There was no doubt in her mind that he would start questioning her about her friends, but before he could say something, his cell phone rang.

"Excuse me," he said before pulling out his phone. "Hello? Yes! This is he. Oh, Hatoyama-san!"

Rei had no interest in knowing whom he was talking to, so she turned her attention back to the other students. Strangely enough, their glee no longer made her feel upset. Instead, it made her look forward to the gathering she would have with her friends that night.

She was just trying to guess when the cherry blossom trees a few meters away from her would bloom (late March or early April?) when her father walked back to where she was standing.

"I need to go back to office. Something came up right now and I need to attend to it," he said apologetically.

 _Aren't you glad I don't have time for dinner tonight?_ The sarcastic thought flashed through her mind, but it contained more humor than spite.

"I thought that I could have had the whole day free. Perhaps we can set up another date to meet? Or—"

"It's okay," Rei cut in.

He stared at her.

"It's okay," she repeated herself. "I know how busy you are and how important work is to you. You don't have to worry about me."

She smiled brightly at him and he didn't immediately answer. It was as if he wanted to be certain if she were being genuine with her words. However, to Rei, her hatred towards him was slowly melting away, replaced by pity. At least she had friends who would be there for her, who she could rely on. Forever.

She doubted she could say the same thing for him.

Therefore, she wasn't too concerned or offended when he took her suggestion and didn't persist in offering to spend time with her. They walked in silence towards where his car was parked and before he got into his car, he looked at Rei again.

"Thank you," he said.

Rei had no idea where his moment of kindness, for a lack of a better word, came from, but she nodded in acknowledgement.

It was after he got into the car that she noticed the chauffeur, who was imposingly tall and altogether big. She couldn't help but stare and she was further surprised by the obvious way he seemed annoyed that she had noticed him.

"Oh, this is Narushi. He's your Uncle Isamu's son," her father informed her.

Isamu Maeda. Another politician from the same party her father was a part of.

"Nice to meet you," she managed to utter, her gaze not wavering from his face.

"Nice to meet you," Narushi said, his voice strained.

Without saying another word, he climbed into the car and drove away. She didn't know how long she stood there, but it was a while later when her grandfather found her, still in the same position.

He asked her what happened, but she did not know what to say. There were too many questions going through her mind but there were no answers.

Didn't Helios say that they would be without memories? Why did  _ **he**_  out of all people seem to have retained his memories? Should she tell the other Senshi?

Well, she supposed it wasn't much of a surprise that he would be the first one to know, but it did not explain why he seemed annoyed. She would have thought that once the Shitennou knew the whole story, they would either run back to Mamoru's side or betray him again. There was absolutely no in-betweens in Rei's mind.

Perhaps she had been too naive about the whole situation after all.

And what had she been thinking? Of course she had to tell the other Senshi.

However, strangely enough, there was a niggling feeling at the back of her mind that told her that she shouldn't. At least, she shouldn't say anything at the present moment.

When they got back to Hikawa Shrine, Rei immediately attempted to consult the fire, but before she could, a knock was heard on the door.

"Rei-chan? There's a handsome lad outside looking for you," her grandfather told her.

Even without asking the fire, Rei already guessed who was outside.

Narushi Maeda.

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N** : Reviews are food for the muse. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the all the wonderful reviews!

The sun was slowly disappearing below the horizon in a distance making the sky turn a myriad of colors. The soft murmurs of cars rushing home traveled upwards and filtered past the trees until it settled as a soft hum surrounding the temple grounds, chorusing the chittering of birds hidden in between the leaves.

However, Rei's concentration was not on the beautiful scene that was created during the sunset, neither was she interested in listening to the duet shared between nature and man-made objects. Though neither of them said a word, Rei was certain that Narushi Maeda also felt the tension in the air. He had always been the most sensitive to things that could not be touched, seen, or heard.

They stood nearly five foot away from one another under the trees. A perfect distance. A  _ **calculated**_  distance. If she were to attack him, he would have enough time to react and counter her blows. They were also far away enough from the temple so that nobody could hear what they talked about.

"You remember." She was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

The ugly frown that appeared on his face confirmed her words and made the next question slip out of her lips before she could stop herself.

"How?"

He closed his eyes as if in thought before he answered, "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does." She turned towards him. "Helios said that the four of you shouldn't remember anything."

It was supposed to be part of the cleansing process. However, Rei wasn't certain if she should let that information slip.

"I didn't remember anything," he muttered, almost to himself.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked.

He pursed his lips as if in frustration and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. I'm not here to discuss that."

She paid no heed to what he said. Just like finding the perfect place for a puzzle piece, something clicked in Rei's mind.

"You didn't remember it … You saw it, didn't you? That's how you know what happened," Rei said.

Narushi gritted his teeth together. "I'm not here to discuss how I found out about my unfortunate past, Mars."

She quickly looked around before narrowing her eyes at him.

"It's Rei Hino,  _ **Nephrite**_ ," she snapped.

"It's Narushi Maeda,  _ **Rei Hino**_ ," he spat back, "and  _ **don't**_  call me that name." He shut his mouth abruptly. "I'm not here to argue with you."

Instead of answering him, Rei gazed at him coldly. Though she usually wasn't one to give up easily in a fight, she had to admit that she was curious about why he was here.

He seemed to go through some sort of internal struggle before he opened his mouth again.

Stiffly, he said, "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone that you've seen me."

"Why?"

His reactions towards seeing her previously allowed her to guess as much. However, she still could not comprehend why he would choose to stay away from Mamoru.

"I don't need these complications in my life," Narushi said.

"Complications? Is that what you call serving your liege?" Rei asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That was in the past," he said with his eyes narrowed.

"You didn't seem to think so while your souls were stuck in those stones," Rei replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"That's different."

"How is it different?" she demanded. "According to what I know, your relationship with Endymion was similar to mine with Serenity. Even without the friendship that I've developed with my princess this lifetime, I know that I would cross boundaries to stay by her side."

"I'm not you," he said. "My family is important to me."

"Don't judge things that you don't know anything about," she replied just as icily. "And for that matter, my grandfather is equally important to me, but I won't give one up for the other."

He stared at her, conflicting emotions warring in his eyes. In the end, he looked away. "We live under different circumstances."

Rei remained looking at him, surprised. His voice was less harsh and the solemnity of his expression was one that she could not understand.

"Is it something you've read from the stars that's preventing you from returning to his side?" she asked.

"No."

The immediate response made Rei even more confused and heightened her suspicions. It made her certain that there was something Narushi wasn't telling her.

"What did you see? Helios, he told us that the Shitennou is supposed to serve Endymion. It's crucial to the stabil—"

"It doesn't matter, Hino-san," Narushi interrupted. "Fortune-telling, reading stars, it's all ... " He closed his eyes as if he were thinking how to word his sentences. When he opened his eyes again, he looked straight into Rei's eyes. "If there's anything I learned, it's all a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"Wh—"

"That's not what I'm here for," Narushi interrupted again, much to Rei's annoyance. ."Please don't tell anyone that you've seen me."

Rei narrowed her eyes at him. "It's not my habit to lie to my friends, especially when it's something this important."

He snorted. "I have no doubts that you see me as anything more than an insignificant former enemy who might betray the Prince again at any given moment."

She did not answer, since that pretty much summed up how she had thought he would be like. Now, she was not as certain, but it wasn't something she felt like she had to share.

"Disregarding what I think about the four of you, I don't like the thought of lying to my sisters," she stressed.

He stayed silent for a moment and Rei wondered if he were thinking about his own brothers in arms.

"All that I ask … unless they specifically ask you, please do not tell them," he relented.

Without waiting for an actual answer from her, he turned around and left. A disbelieving laugh bubbled out of Rei's lips. The man hadn't even waited for an answer from her. But then, she decided that she was becoming more and more forgetful.

Regardless of what he said and what name he used, Nephrite was still a master in fortune-telling.

* * *

 

_**Mzimba, Malawi** _

Takeo Osaka glowered at the rain that just did not seem to stop as he waited for his correspondent, Rashid Nyondo, to arrive in front of the hotel. After puffing his cheeks out, he slowly released the air, allowing his bangs to fly in different directions away from his face.

Moments later, a jeep drove up and a man jumped out of it.

Disregarding the rain, he sauntered up to where Takeo was standing while commenting loudly, "It's the wrong time of the year to be here, my friend."

"You could say that again," Takeo grumbled as he opened his umbrella and stepped into the rain to meet with Rashid halfway.

"Another one or two months and you might have stayed away from this," Rashid said, waving his hand at the downpour.

The glare that Takeo shot Rashid clearly translated his annoyance, causing the African man to laugh heartily.

"So … got any extraordinary gems out of this newest mine?" Takeo immediately jumped into the subject he was here in Malawi for when they got into Rashid's jeep and out of the rain.

"Extraordinary, yes. Gems, no," Rashid replied with a shake of his head.

"What do you mean?" Takeo asked, confused.

A smile appeared on Rashid's face. "You'll see when you get there. Mikio is thinking about going into the mine himself."

The fact that Mikio Yukimura, his long-time friend and the vice president of the company supplying him with gems, even considered going into the mine made things even stranger. However, Takeo knew Rashid long enough to know that he wouldn't get any information out of him until they got to the mines.

"Hah! I'd pay to see that happen," Takeo said instead.

"I'd pay to see  _ **you**_ go in," Rashid answered, glancing at the man from the corner of his eyes.

"Pfft! Never," Takeo said, throwing his ponytail over his shoulder, causing Rashid to laugh out loud again.

The ride to the mines didn't feel very long, perhaps because Rashid had always been an animated talker and the two of them could always chat up a storm. However, it didn't escape Takeo's notice that there were bags under Rashid's eyes. There was an underlying sense of worriedness that could not be washed away by words or laughter, and it made Takeo both excited and wary.

The rain had finally slowed down to a drizzle and Takeo hurriedly got out of the jeep. Excitement coursed through his body. He had no idea why, but being close to the mines, the places where gemstones were discovered, always made him exhilarated.

"I never understand what you are thinking, Takeo," Rashid said as they approached the mine where most of the people were congregated at. "As a jewelry designer, you can easily have them ship the stones to you instead of having to come all the way out here."

Takeo grinned. "Let's just say that it's a hobby of mine. Yo, Mickey Mouse!" he hollered.

A tall man with broad shoulders stiffened promptly upon hearing Takeo's words before turning around slowly, his eyes shooting daggers at the young man.

"You're going to get buried in one of the mines one day," Rashid commented.

Takeo shrugged. "Not my fault his parents named him 'Mikio'."

"Grow up, Takeo," Mikio Yukimura said when they reached where he had been standing, his eyes still narrowed slits.

"But it's absolutely no fun to grow up," Takeo said, brushing a lock of hair out of his eyes. "I don't want to become a stiff old man like you."

The look on Mikio's face clearly showed that he no longer had any interest in continuing this particular banter.

"Any further progress?" Rashid asked, nodding his head towards the opening to the mine a few yards away and steering the conversation in a different direction.

Mikio shook his head as Takeo swiveled his head around, watching with curiosity at the group of men crowding around the entrance of the mine. All of a sudden, a sharp, high-pitched sound echoed throughout the mines, causing Takeo to stuff his fingers into his ears.

"What the hell!?" he shouted.

But of course nobody answered him because both Mikio and Rashid had their ears covered as well. It might have lasted a few minutes, Takeo wasn't sure, but when it finally stopped, the ringing in his ears continued.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded as he shook his head and rubbed his ears, trying to make that discomfort go away.

"We shouldn't … are you sure we shouldn't stop this operation, Mikio?" Rashid asked.

Takeo snapped his head towards the duo. He knew that something was up while he was on the jeep, but it seemed like things were much worse than the things his mind could come up with.

"Why? What happened?" he asked. He gazed at Rashid. "You said you'll tell me when we get to the mines. We're at the mines, so tell me."

Rashid looked at Mikio. After a short moment of hesitation, Mikio gave him a nod. However, before Rashid could open his mouth, shouts came from the group of men in front of the mine. Soon, they parted in the middle, and a man came rushing out of the mine, carrying someone on his back.

"Yukimura!" one of the men from the group shouted.

Takeo recognized him as one of the supervisors on site.

All traces of casualness slipped from Mikio's face and he jogged over to where the men were congregated. The man who'd came out of the mine immediately went over to a caravan while two miners opened the door for him.

"What happened?" Takeo asked, worried.

"Shit," Rashid muttered, concerned, as they, too, hurried over to the caravan.

Because he was with Rashid, they easily made it passed the group of men surrounding the caravan. Takeo froze on the steps to the doorway when he took in the scene in front of him. Horrified, he gazed at the damage that had been done to the miner who had been carried out. His clothes were in pieces, and the places where the flesh could be seen were decorated with scorch marks. His face was bloodied beyond recognition and he looked only a half a step away from death.

"What the hell!?" Takeo finally managed to squeeze out of his throat.

"That mine … it's cursed," the man who had carried the miner out said, anger and sorrow causing him to breathe heavily. "There's something wrong with it. Nobody should go inside anymore. It happened today, it happened yesterday, and it happened the day before yesterday. Ever since we've blown down that huge rock five days ago, nobody could go inside. That mine is cursed."

Takeo stared at him, flabbergasted.

"We should shut down the mine," Rashid whispered to Mikio.

Before Mikio could answer, the supervisor who'd called Mikio earlier spoke up, "We can't. The boss wouldn't like that."

"Who cares what the boss thinks anymore, Adachi?" Rashid asked, turning around and glaring at the man. "People are dying and nobody knows why."

Adachi opened and closed his mouth a few times before a look of guilt appeared on his face. "It's not like I want to see people hurt. But you know how management is like. They don't want to hear that something strange is happening here. They only want results and even if I could disregard the pressure that's being placed on my shoulders, not everyone could say say the same."

He glanced at Mikio a couple of times throughout his words as if he were asking for support.

Mikio gazed at him for a few seconds before opening his mouth, "Stop the operations for today."

"Yukimura!" the supervisor protested.

Mikio held up his hand for him to stop talking. "I will speak to Mr. Murakami tonight when I get back to the hotel. I'm sure this is something he would want to know about and we will see what his orders are before we continue."

"What happened to the miner? What's happening here?" Takeo asked.

A deep frown was present on Mikio's face, and after a moment of hesitation, he turned towards Rashid.

"Take Takeo back to the hotel first."

"What? No!" Takeo protested.

The stare Mikio gave him was frosty, and under other circumstances, Takeo might've backed down. However, this time, Takeo was not going to let that happen.

"I'm not a child, Mikio. Stop treating me like one."

"This is the company's issue," Mikio said. "You're our customer. You are not supposed to see any of this. If Mr. Murakami finds out that you know about this, all of us can get fired. Now please do us a favor and return to the hotel."

Takeo stared at him, flabbergasted, for a few seconds before he saw a glint pass through Mikio's eyes. After years of being friends, he recognized the meaning behind it. At the same time, he saw Rashid gave him a subtle wink. Knowing that they would give him more information in private, he changed his expression to that of rage and stomped out of the caravan.

As he waited for Rashid to get the engine started, Takeo's eyes landed on the mine. There was no one standing around it anymore, since most if not all of the miners were now waiting to find out if the miner would survive. However, the desolated sight only made a shiver run down Takeo's spine as an unusual feeling of déjà vu washed over him.

Somewhere in the back of his head, a warning signal went off.

* * *

 

"Naru-chan!" Usagi sang as she sat down across from her friend at Fruits Parlor Crown.

"Hello, Usagi-chan," Naru replied with a brilliant smile.

Unazuki arrived moments later to take down their orders of an triple chocolate ice cream sundae for Usagi and a vanilla ice cream with a mixed fruits topping for Naru.

"So how have you been, Naru-chan?" Usagi asked once they were alone again.

Though they still met one another while they were at school, Usagi's free time were either filled with mini-battles with stray youma and other evil creatures or meetings with the other Senshi. That had taken a toll on the moments she could share with Naru. Thankfully, Naru never questioned Usagi too much about her moments of absence. This had led to the other Senshi to wonder if Naru knew about their secret identities. However, since she'd never asked, they could not find an opening to find out.

"A bit busy, I guess," Naru answered quite cheerfully. She leaned forward. "Mom is going to have a jewelry exhibition soon!"

Usagi's eyes widened. "Really!? That's so cool!" The thought of the beautiful jewelries made her eyes sparkle.

"I know, right?" Naru answered.

Their desserts were placed in front of them and after a short casual chat with Unazuki, they were left alone again.

"Would you be interested in coming, Usagi?" Naru asked.

Usagi looked at her, confused. "To where?"

Naru giggled. "To the jewelry exhibition, silly."

"Oh!" Usagi scratched the back of her head. "Um … I would like to, but I've never really been to a jewelry exhibition before."

"That's okay. It's nothing very formal, so you don't have to dress up or anything. I have extra tickets and Mom would be more than happy to see you there." She took a drink out of her cup from a straw before continuing. "And it's a rather special occasion. My older brother would be presenting some of his newest designs there."

"Takeo is coming back?" Usagi asked, surprised and happy.

Naru nodded. "Mom hated how he disappeared at months at a time, especially this time when he didn't answer phone calls and mail for so long."

A niggling feeling made a ripple through Usagi's mind. It was as if someone had mentioned a name or a word that she hadn't heard for a long time and no longer remembered who it was or where it came from. After a short moment of thought, it dawned on her. However, the thought was absurd to her. Takeo? A Shitennou? It felt more like a joke than reality.

Placing her attention back onto Naru and brushing that thought aside, Usagi narrowed her eyes and said, "Just so you know, Naru-chan, jewelry designer or not, if he pulls on my pigtails, I will screech at him."

Another giggled escaped from Naru. "I'll be sure to tell him that." She tilted her head to one side. "Would Ami-chan and the others like to come to? I'm sure Mom and Onii-chan would appreciate the extra traffic there."

"I'll ask them, but I'm pretty sure they'll be happy to come along." Usagi grinned.

* * *

 

"A jewelry exhibition?" Rei asked with her eyebrow raised as she poured some more tea for her friends.

"Yes! Isn't it so cool? It would have so many pretty gemstones," Usagi gushed.

"Naru-chan mentioned that her brother hadn't been answering their phone calls and mail?" Ami questioned, looking up from her laptop.

"Mm-hm, I think that's half the reason why Naru seemed to cheerful today. She had always been close to her older brother, but he went off to study … um … I don't remember what the name of the course is, but he went to Europe a few years ago," Usagi said.

"Wait. You don't think that Naru-chan's older brother might be one of the Shitennou, do you?" Makoto asked as she watched Ami's expressions.

Ami smiled. "I don't know yet. I think it might be a bit presumptuous. After all, coincidences happen very often in this world, don't they?"

Usagi giggled. "That's what I thought, too! It's just too weird imagining Takeo-chan as one of the Shitennou."

A contemplative look appeared on Rei's face as she pondered on Ami's words. She believed that there were coincidences in this world, all right. But after meeting Narushi Maeda and the possibility of Naru's older brother being a Shitennou, Rei wondered if their fates were somehow tied together. She nearly shivered at how destiny managed to weave their lives together.

"What's the matter, Rei?" Minako asked.

Rei snapped back to reality and gazed at Minako. She gave her a slow shake of her head before saying, "I'm just … We don't know if Naru-chan's older brother is one of the Shitennou or not yet, but if he is, I'm just marveling at the fact that if Beryl never released Metallia again this lifetime, we might have met one another because we were situated so close to one another."

"Well, if you think about it, it's not all that weird," Makoto answered, tapping her chin in thought. "We were all drawn to this district because of fate. I no longer doubt that our lives are somehow linked together. So if that's true, why wouldn't it be true for Mamoru-san and his Shitennou?"

The other girls nodded in agreement.

"That would make sense," Minako conceded. Jokingly, she told Usagi, "Mamoru-san should start praying that his Shitennou were reborned at a safe distance from Haruka-san."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews feed the muse. ;)


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely reviews! Apologies for the long wait. This chapter was somehow harder to write. I knew (sort of) what I wanted to write but for some reason everything lacked the feeling I wanted to go for. I think I got what I was going for in the end though. Hope you enjoy it!

After two weeks of calmness, no other signs of the Shitennou were seen, though truth to be told, the Senshi hadn't been extremely proactive in looking for them.

"They will appear when it is the right time, and Helios had mentioned that it's not a given that they will definitely appear," Mamoru had said.

However, Usagi could tell that he was melancholy over the fact that not one of his best friends from his previous life had managed to find their way back to him. Therefore, Usagi wasn't very certain that she should tell him what the Senshi had speculated about the Shitennou. If it turned out that that Takeo wasn't one of the Shitennou, she knew he would be devastated.

She hoped, however, that going to the jewelry exhibition would cheer him up a bit. If Takeo was one of the Shitennou, she wondered if Mamoru would recognize him.

"Usagi? Are you going out?" Ikuko asked, poking her head out from the kitchen while Usagi was pulling on her shoe at the doorway.

"Yes, Mom! I'm going to Naru's mom's jewelry exhibition with my friends," she answered.

"Take care and please be careful!" Ikuko said. "By the way, you might see your father there as well."

"Dad's going to be there?" Usagi asked.

Ikuko chuckled. "Your father is a magazine editor, you know? It shouldn't be all that surprising to know that he might be present at certain events."

Usagi grinned. "See you later, Mom!"

She arrived at the exhibition center thirty minutes later and found the others already there waiting for her.

"Sorry, everyone!" she apologized after she ran up to where they were standing.

"As long as you have the tickets with you," Minako said with a wink.

Digging into the pocket, she pulled out six tickets. "There we are!"

"Shall we go in then?" Ami asked with a gentle smile.

With an enthusiastic nod, Usagi looped her arm around Mamoru's and walked through the sliding doors. As she walked in, she glanced up at her boyfriend.

"Mamo-chan? Are you feeling alright? You look a little pale," she inquired.

Mamoru looked at her with an endearing smile and shook his head. "I guessed I studied a little too much recently, so I've been having headaches every so often."

Usagi frowned. "But … I thought you hardly had headaches anymore."

Not after he mastered his powers, that was, but she knew it was something that she shouldn't say out loud in public.

"Apparently I still do," he answered. With his free hand, he touched her cheek. "Don't worry. I'll be fine."

Usagi looked at him with uncertainty, but she couldn't resist returning his smile, not when she knew that he needed it. Perhaps his headaches were due to his worry about the Shitennou and the stress he was going through.

Her worries were slightly pushed back when she entered the exhibition. Rather than letting passersby gain a peek at what was going on inside, the windows were covered with black curtains, adding a sense of mystery to the otherwise cheery atmosphere. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but rather than stealing the show from the displays, it somehow added a soft glow to the jewelry they hovered over. Each and every one of the presentations were placed on top of tall stools and covered with glass boxes. The prices weren't immediately visible to the viewer and Usagi guessed that one would have to ask if they were interested in buying an item.

"Usagi-chan!" they heard Naru's voice while they were admiring a beautiful emerald and diamond necklace.

"Naru-chan!" Usagi exclaimed excitedly as she waved her arms above her head.

Within seconds, Naru was standing in front of them.

"Thank you for inviting us," Ami said politely.

"Thank you for coming!" Naru replied. "It's always nice to have more people at an exhibition."

"Well, there's already quite a lot of people here," Makoto said with a smile as she looked at the crowds.

"The designs are very unique," Rei commented, glancing at a pair of sapphire earrings.

Naru grinned. "My brother's most prized designs aren't over here. It's over in Section C. Come on, I'll show you."

As they walked through the hallway, Usagi's curiosity continued to grow. The designs they'd passed by were already quite mesmerizing, in her opinion, so what could be so special that they reserved a place in Section C?

"—also digs for jewels in other places around the world, such as Tanzania, Brazil, Kenya, and Afghanistan, but according to what I know, a lot of the rarer stones you see in this exhibition comes from Malawi," Naru was saying to the other girls.

"It's beautiful," Ami complimented, taking in the different displays.

"That's because they were designed by the best," a haughty voice interrupted.

They turned around and found a young man standing not too far behind them.

"Onii-chan!" Naru chided though an indulgent smile appeared on her face. Facing the girls once more, she said, "This is my older brother and the designer, Osaka Takeo."

"Ohhhh, look who's here?" Takeo cooed, sidling up to Usagi, and before she had the chance to react, he tugged her pigtail.

"Takeo, stop it!" Usagi squawked, yanking her hair out of his hand.

"Try and stop me, darling," he taunted cheekily.

Naru pulled his sleeve and subtly gestured towards Mamoru, who was standing to Usagi's side. Takeo's eyes slid over to him.

* * *

He stared.

For a moment, his mind remained blank and suddenly all sorts of emotions flowed through him, so many emotions that he couldn't process and evaluate them quickly enough. All he knew was that this man who was standing next to his younger sister's best friend was familiar to him. However, for the life of him, Takeo could not remember where he had seen him.

This was exceptionally strange since Takeo had a good memory, especially when it came to people. He was excellent when it came down to remembering details about a person, even if he had only seen them once. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not remember where he had seen this young man, let alone explain why he felt that this was someone who should had been at least a close friend.

And then a wave of guilt washed over him, so intense that he nearly retched in the middle of the exhibition.

_What the hell!?_

Takeo was not a good guy. Though he was intelligent, achieving high grades regardless of what class he decided to take, he was never a goody-goody two-shoes. His teachers both loved and hated him and he never bothered to convince them to choose either way, since he did not care. However, he had never done something that should had made him feel so much regret and sorrow.

He wanted to run and hide.

* * *

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi called out tentatively.

His eyes were slightly narrowed though they held no malice. Instead, they carried the look of confusion. More than anything, she could almost see Mamoru trying to work out certain information in his head. Twisting her neck around, she saw Takeo standing there with his face paler than usual. His eyes were wide and he looked so lost for that second that Usagi could hardly be reminded of the young man who had so playfully pulled her hair just seconds ago.

The other Senshi watched the scene with a combination of fear and excitement and at that moment, Usagi was more than certain that Takeo must be one of the Shitennou.

"Onii-chan?" Naru called softly, obviously picking up on the strange atmosphere that surrounded them.

With that, the tenseness in the air was broken. Takeo snapped out of it and the sassy smile slid back into place.

"Sorry, I just thought he reminded me of someone that I used to know," he said. Tilting his head to one side, he addressed Mamoru, "Have we met somewhere before?"

Before Mamoru could answer, Naru giggled. "You're not hitting on Usagi-chan's boyfriend now, are you?"

Takeo rolled his eyes. "As if Usagi stands a chance against me if I actually do try to steal her man from her."

A small frown appeared on his forehead when he made eye contact with Mamoru again, but it disappeared so quickly that it almost felt like a figment of Usagi's imagination. Turning on his heels, Takeo walked forward.

"Anyway, let me take you over to Section C. It's usually reserved for VIPs, but since you are friends of Naru, I guess I can make this exception," he said, without turning his head.

Naru grinned, winked at them, and motioned for them to follow him.

Suddenly, Ami stopped walking. Usagi looked at her curiously and found her staring at the brochure in her hand.

_Where and when did she get that?_

The brochure was grabbed out of Ami's hand by Minako seconds later. Once she took a good look at it, her mouth dropped open. This attracted the attentions of both Makoto and Rei who immediately had looks of shock on their faces once they saw the contents of that single piece of paper. Unable to hold back her curiosity any longer, Usagi bounced over to Minako, glanced over her shoulder, and was promptly shocked.

"Dream" was printed right on top of the page dedicated to the special exhibition. Different shades of purple, blue, and pink were used to decorate the picture printed behind the written words. However, what immediately caught her eyes was the main focus of the painting.

On the upper left corner of the brochure was the silhouette of a woman floating away from what appeared to be the moon. Her arms were outstretched, reaching towards the lower right corner of the picture, where the shadow of a man with a long flowing cape stood on what looked like Earth. His arms, too, were extended towards the woman as if waiting for her to fall into his embrace.

"The love between the moon goddess and an Earthling," Ami softly spoke.

Takeo appeared at her elbow, perhaps because he finally found out that they were all huddled together and he decided to find out why. When he saw what they were looking at, he smirked.

"Serenity and Endymion, Greek mythology," he explained offhandedly. "After all, my designs are supposed to be out of this world."

However, nobody was really listening to him boast about his skills. Though they were more than sure that he had to be one of the Shitennou, they had no idea that his mind would recall information like  _ **this**_.

With a slightly shaking hand, Mamoru requested for the brochure. After little thought, Minako swallowed and handed it over to him. His face paled when he saw the picture they had been ogling at moments before.

"Just imagine it," Takeo said, spreading his hands out in front of him as one would open curtains as he glanced towards the ceiling.

"Now you've done it, you've gotten him into his designer mode," Naru said with a roll of her eyes and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Neither one of them seemed to notice the small commotion that was happening right next to them.

"The moon and the Earth are always circling around each other, as if they were lovers, following one another for all eternity. Can you imagine if they were represented by human figures?" Takeo asked, closing his eyes. "But they are always forced to be apart because of their mere distance." He opened his eyes again and looked at them, "Sort of like long distance lovers, of course, but on a larger scale. The differences between them would be immense and the hurdles are so difficult to jump over, but they continue to attract one another and continue to reach out for one another." He sucked out a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Can you imagine the beauty and angst in that?" A small, sad smile appeared on his face. "It's a union that can only happen in dreams, isn't it?"

Mamoru took a step forward, as if he were about to confront Takeo but then stopped himself from doing so. His shoulders were tense, and it almost seemed as if he wanted to do something but he did not know what to do. His hand gripped onto the brochure as if it were his lifeline.

Plastering an encouraging smile on her face, Usagi reached for his hand and gave it a squeeze. He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes tumultuous and filled with sorrow and pain that nearly no one else could understand.

But when their gazes met, he knew. She knew he knew. She had been at the same spot he had been so many years ago. Perhaps it was this thought, or perhaps it was because he knew she would stand beside him no matter what happened in the future, he relaxed. Though the worry was still there, he was visibly less anxious about the situation they had accidentally gotten themselves into.

"Maybe dreams can come true one day," Ami spoke up softly.

Takeo swiveled his head around and looked at her, almost as if he saw her for the first time. A blush appeared on Ami's cheeks, since she still wasn't very comfortable with unnecessary attention. However, she managed not to shrink back into the shadows. Instead, she gave him a small, kind smile.

"What inspired you?" Rei asked carefully.

Takeo's eyes glazed over, like he was suddenly stumped by her question. Then, that look dissolved and that cheeky smile reappeared.

"Dreams."

* * *

Section C was much quieter and had a lot less people. Minako assumed that it was because one needed to have special access to come in there. It was roughly separated into two sections, with one side featuring jewelry with stones that were lighter in tone and color while the other brimmed with vibrant, lively colors. The jewelry right in the middle of these two sections, however, consisted of stones in various shades of red and pink.

On the "Moon" side of the exhibition, grey-colored tiles were chosen for the flooring. The walls were painted with different shades of purple and blue and light-colored spots that presumably represented the stars dotted the artwork. At the center of the wall was a simple castle that looked more like the ones from fairytales than the one during the Silver Millennium.

It was understandable, since most of the Shitennou became more "familiar" with the Moon Castle after they'd been brainwashed.

_It's as if I'm not even doubting that Takeo must be a Shitennou now._

That thought somehow amused Minako more than it should, since if the Shitennou were, indeed, popping up in their radars, it would mean more work for her and her sister Senshi.

Plants and trees surrounded the section that represented "Earth" with the predominant flower being, unsurprisingly, roses. The backdrop to the painted flora was a series of pillars and beige-colored walls. Right in the middle of the artwork was a water fountain. Though Minako wasn't particularly familiar with the layout of the Golden Kingdom, she was ninety-nine percent certain that its Royal Garden had been portrayed much more accurately than the Moon Castle.

Usagi, after recovering from her delight and shock at the paintings, hovered over the jewelry designs in the middle. While Takeo talked to them in that offhanded tone of his about his designs, Minako meandered over to one of the other displays. It wasn't really the way it looked that first caught her eyes. It was, instead, the colors that were chosen for the specific piece of jewelry. Normally, she had thought that orange and pink would clash. However, the way Takeo had arranged the stones made it work.

_The pink stone ..._

"Kunzite," she softly muttered under her breath.

"One of the largest ones he'd acquired," a deep voice spoke up behind her.

She swirled around and found herself face-to-chest with a man, a tall man, so she had to tilt her head upwards in order to look him in the eye.

A half smile appeared on his lips before he offered any explanation. "Takeo, I meant. Sorry to startle you. It's just that kunzite isn't like diamonds and emeralds, so not many people would know its name so readily."

Minako hoped that the blush on her cheeks wouldn't give too much away. "It's … a nice-looking stone."

The man stepped forward until he was standing next to her before leaning towards the display, his eyes thoughtful. "Interested in stones?"

"Mm," she hummed, flustered and not very certain how to answer his question.

In truth, "kunzite" brought back too many memories, both good and bad, but it wasn't something she really wanted to talk about.

Deciding to change the subject, she asked, "You're a friend of Takeo-san?"

He straightened himself up and looked at her. "You can say that."

"Why? Does that mean that you're his enemy?" Minako questioned, amused.

"He's the worst person in the whole entire universe," Takeo's voice suddenly rang out.

They both turned around and found Takeo standing there, glaring at the man who was standing next to Minako. The man crossed his arms in front of his chest, directing his attention towards Takeo now.

"Oh, don't you look at me like that," Takeo said, looking at the man through narrowed eyes. "I know you've gone into the cave, haven't you?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like I'd gone in?"

"Rashid told me you've gone in! Right after I'd gotten on the plane!" Takeo screeched.

"Again, does it look like I'd gone in?" the man asked, tilting his head to one side.

Takeo glared at him, disbelief warring with something else inside his eyes.

"Now aren't you going to introduce me to these lovely ladies? I'm assuming that they are your friends," the man said, indicating Minako and the others.

Takeo did not answer him, apparently still angry. Instead, Naru spoke up, "They're my friends from school." After she introduced each person in turn, she gestured towards the man and said, "This is Yukimura Mikio-san, Onii-chan's correspondent from the gem company and one of his best friends."

"He's  _ **not**_  my best friend," Takeo protested.

"Nice to meet you," Minako as well as the others answered, ignoring Takeo.

Now that the strange atmosphere had been broken, Minako was finally given a chance to really look at Mikio. She had noticed early on that he was quite handsome. However, due to the situation and unfortunate memories, that information hadn't fully registered in her mind until now. Mamoru was already quite tall, but this man easily towered over him. His shoulders were broad and though he was wearing a long-sleeved shirt, Minako could tell that his arm muscles were toned. If Naru hadn't mentioned it, she would've never guessed that he worked for a gem company. He looked something more like a police officer.

Or a general.

_Could he be … !?_

The information hit Minako like a pile of bricks, and she attempted to grasp onto any detail from the memories she had from the Silver Millennium. However, try as she might, she did not know if this man was truly Kunzite. After all, the few times she'd been in contact with Kunzite was while he was in his combat attire, which was directly connected to the magic of Terra. She supposed that like the Senshi, there was some kind of magic that protected the Shitennou's true identities from other people.

She stole a glance towards Mamoru, wondering if he would remember his own guards. However, judging from his interaction with Takeo so far, he wasn't too certain himself. Perhaps reincarnation somehow muddled with his head? Or maybe it was just the many times he had been brainwashed. Minako couldn't tell, especially when he had that strange frown on his face.

She looked towards Mikio again and found him speaking with Ami, who was asking something about mining gems. After watching their interaction for a while, Minako couldn't hold back the amusement from drawing a grin on her face.

_Trust that girl to be more interested in something else rather than the delectable man standing in front of her._

The moment that thought crossed her mind, Minako froze. With a jolt, she spun around and gently patted herself on the cheeks. She had to focus! Especially if he was one of the Shitennou! She wasn't here to check out how cute they were. She had to make sure that they were safe to be around her Princess. The worst thing that could happen was for history to repeat itself. Though the Dark Kingdom was no more, who knew what kind of other obstacles might suddenly confront them?

" _Your fate is to keep fighting."_

Indeed, it was.

Many years ago, those words from Ace had hurt her terribly. After all, she was the incarnation of the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Nowadays, however, she found herself content with the fact that she had her sister Senshi.

And besides, being lonely forever was probably the curse that  _ **came**_  with being the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Because no one was good enough for her.

That thought made her giggle.

"Care to share?" a voice spoke up.

She looked up and found Mikio standing next to her, much to her surprise. She had no idea when Ami had finished speaking with him and the young woman was now hovering over a light blue gem necklace in the "Moon section" with a frown on her delicate features.

"Just a personal joke," she answered lightly. "So … enjoying the exhibition?"

Some light flirtation wouldn't hurt, would it?

 _Yes, it would_ , a voice that sounded suspiciously like Artemis rang in her mind.

He was so going to give her a piece of his mind if he knew she was flirting with a person who might be the incarnation of Kunzite.

"Mostly," Mikio answered as he eyed a sapphire ring embellished with some kind of purplish stone and diamonds.

"Mostly?" she questioned. "Meaning that there are parts that you don't necessarily enjoy?"

A smile cut across his face, and he tilted his head so that he was looking into her eyes again. "The designs are top-notched."

"However?"

The smile on his face grew. "The theme is not my cup of tea."

Minako stared at him, surprised. "Why not?"

He glanced behind her for a second, causing her to look backwards, too. It turned out that her friends and Takeo were all standing quite a distance away. She wondered if this was his purpose, that he did not want others to listen in on their conversation.

He took a step forward towards her, and she gazed back at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"Don't you think that their affair would be disastrous to the world?"

Because of those simple words, Minako felt as if a bucket of ice had been dropped over her head.

"What?"

Mikio didn't seem to notice her shock. Instead, he continued to say, "Think about it. Serenity is a Goddess, from a different tribe. The gods and the humans are completely different beings. Even if they were to get together, there could be so many things that would go wrong. A moment of passion might exist, but a long-time relationship is just not possible and will prove to be devastating to all who are involved."

Minako felt a shiver run down her spine as she continued staring into his eyes. The coldness in them as well as his words made her heart constrict and it almost too difficult for her to breathe.

How could this happen? She had thought that the Shitennou had thought this way because they had been brainwashed. Or had she been misinformed somehow? Were her memories somehow tampered with?

She stole a glance towards Takeo who was speaking animatedly about something to her friends, and she was left even more confused.

No. If the Shitennou had been against the thought of Terrans and Lunarians falling in love, Takeo wouldn't have been so mesmerized with the story of Serenity and Endymion. It just wasn't logical to Minako. Looking at Mikio again, she wondered. Was he truly a Shitennou? If he were, why was he parroting the words of someone who had been brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom?

"That," she said with some difficulty, "is not true."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "How is that so?"

"I believe that true love can conquer anything," she confessed.

It was a "truth" she had learned from Usagi and Mamoru. The trip to the thirtieth century had shown her that. Even though she had no idea what would happen afterwards, she was certain that the love between Usagi and Mamoru was strong enough to defeat any enemy that came their way.

"Aino-san, there are plenty of evidence throughout history that would prove your notion wrong," he answered. "No fairytales last forever. 'Happily ever after' occurs only while you are watching movies. Once the movie ends, nobody knows what happens."

"That is a very negative way of thinking," she said quietly. Determined, she lifted her chin just a bit higher, almost in defiance. "But regardless of what you think, I still believe that true love is the strongest power in the world."

They looked at one another in silence with only the sounds of the other people speaking in the background. The moment last for so long that Minako almost thought that he wouldn't answer. When he did, however, she found herself more angry than mollified.

With a short laugh, and she thought she sensed a touch of condescension in it, he answered, "If that's what you want to believe."

Before she could answer him, he turned on his heels and walked away, leaving Minako in his wake.

What the hell!?

_He can't be him. He just can't be._

And why was he telling her this? What was his purpose?

Her mind went into overload and she didn't move from her spot next to the topaz-kunzite necklace until Makoto came over and told her about the arrival of Usagi's father.

Numbly, she walked towards the exit. At the doorway, she stopped and glanced back at Mikio who was looking at the "Moon" side of the exhibition from the "Earth" side. For a moment, she almost saw the image of Kunzite overlapping with his before that illusion was broken by the way he was looking at the "Moon castle".

Uncontrollably, she shivered again and a sense of unease washed over her.

"Minako-chan? What's the matter?" Rei asked, appearing beside her.

Minako shook her head slowly, though her eyes didn't leave Mikio. Rei followed her line of sight and a second later, Minako felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head and looked at one of her best friends. As discreetly as she could, Rei motioned for her to follow her. After casting one last look at the man, Minako turned around and left with Rei.

She was led to the ladies' room, and after checking to make sure that they were the only ones there, Rei locked the door.

"What's the matter, Rei-chan?"

"There's something wrong with Yukimura-san," Rei replied.

"What?" Minako asked.

Though she had guessed as much, it still carried a much heavier weight when it came from Rei, who was known to be most spiritual out of all of them.

"There's a strange aura surrounding him," Rei answered as a frown appeared.

"Is he still influenced by the Dark Kingdom?" Minako questioned.

Rei paused as she searched Minako's features. With a bit of discomfort, Minako shifted her weight on her feet.

"You suspect that he might be one of the Shitennou?" Rei asked. "Or should I say, you suspect that he might be Kunzite?"

Minako stared at her and she couldn't immediately answer. After a moment of hesitation, she opened her mouth with uncertainty, "You … knew?"

A slow smile that reminded her more of Ami than anyone else appeared on Rei's face. "Thank you for being honest with me."

Minako winced, but that didn't stop a blush from appearing on her face. "I guess everyone knew, huh?"

"Not really," Rei replied with a shrug. "Both Makoto and Ami were oblivious to the fact, unless they were hiding their thoughts better than I thought they could, and I am more than certain that our Princess was too head over heels over Endymion to notice these things. However, you should had known that even back then, if you had told me, I wouldn't had told anyone."

Minako shook her head. "It had been an infatuation and it wasn't something I would've pursued." She smiled brightly. "And someone once insinuated that I fall in love far too often."

"You crush on people very often," Rei analyzed, "but I don't think you fall in love very easily."

Minako froze.

"It was easy for you to find someone attractive, but you always vocalized those thoughts, loud and clear," Rei said with a smile. "I don't recall you doing that at all after you'd met Kunzite."

With a sigh, Minako confessed. "I don't know, Rei-chan." A giggle bubbled out of her lips. "And I call myself the Goddess of Love and Beauty."

"But you're also Aino Minako," Rei said, placing her hand on Minako's shoulder again. "Just like Usagi is both our Princess and Tsukino Usagi. Just because we were someone in our previous life, it doesn't mean that we are the same person. We had different experiences, so we see and feel things differently. I think it's pretty normal. I may have some fortune-telling abilities this lifetime, but I can assure you that it's nowhere near the accuracy I possessed during the Silver Millennium."

Minako mulled over her words. As she did, there was a knock on the door and muffled questioning about the availability to the restroom.

After casting a short glance to the door, Rei quickly said in a low voice, "But in regards to Yukimura-san, there's something awfully wrong with his aura. If he is one of the Shitennou, matters might be worse than what I am imagining right now."

Minako nodded. "We'll need to keep an eye on him, even if he isn't one of the Shitennou, and we'll need to talk to Ami-chan as soon as we can, so we could find out if this is the works of the Dark Kingdom or something else."

"I get a strong feeling that it might be something else," Rei informed gravely.

The person outside the door stopped with their knocking, and both girls knew that they only had minutes before someone arrived to open the door.

"We need to have a meeting, right after this exhibition," Minako concluded.

"I'll inform the other girls," Rei promised. "But should we tell Usagi?"

Minako paused, thinking over the situation. "No. Not yet. Maybe after we discuss it with the other girls first, but not before. If it isn't something serious, we shouldn't put unnecessary stress on her or Mamoru-san just yet. They have enough on their minds as it is."

Rei nodded in agreement.

Minako sighed heavily and thought for a moment before she was reminded about something else. With a smile, she said "Let's get out of here before we get yelled at for locking up a restroom."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you for all the wonderful reviews!

**Chapter 5**

Minako and Makoto found the rest of the group just as they were finished exchanging greetings with Kenji Tsukino and a young man standing next to him.

"Kenji-papa, how are you doing?" Minako asked with a brilliant smile.

She had always enjoyed speaking with Usagi's father. In a way, he had almost become like a second father to her and the rest of the girls. The only person who was obviously receiving the cold shoulder was, naturally, Mamoru, though Minako had to say, their interactions were a lot less tense and more "uncomfortably silent" nowadays.

"I'm doing quite well, thank you Minako-chan," Kenji replied with a smile. Turning to the young man standing beside him, he introduced, "This is Kobayashi-san, one of the reporters who work at our magazine firm. Quite a fine young man."

"You are too kind, Tsukino-san," Kobayashi said humbly.

"He probably would find a good paying job as a model, too," Makoto whispered to Minako with a wink.

Minako gave Makoto the elbow, though she chuckled. Thankfully, Kenji was speaking with Naru, and therefore, neither he nor Kobayashi overheard their short exchange.

"Did you see something interesting?' Ami asked Minako and Rei with curiosity.

"Yeah, very interesting," Minako answered with a subtle wink.

A look of enlightenment appeared on Ami, and she gave Minako a nod.

 _The beauty of being comrades for so many years_ , Minako thought with warmth and satisfaction.

"—if we can have an interview with your older brother," Kenji was asking Naru on the side.

"I can't promise for him, but I think he might say yes, since you are Usagi-chan's father," Naru beamed.

Just as Kenji opened his mouth to answer, a loud scream came from the front of the exhibition. Within seconds, it was accompanied by other yells and the sounds of glass breaking. The people around them immediately went into panic mode, running towards the nearest exit they could find away from the front door.

"What's happening!?" Naru yelled over the cacophony.

Before anyone could answer, the floors shook to a loud boom.

From the corner of her eye, Minako saw Ami, ever the calm and collected one slip into the shadows, most likely to transform. Moments later, subtle signs of blue light disappeared just as quickly as they appeared.

Sailor Mercury had arrived.

Minako whipped her head around and instructed Rei and Makoto, "Get them to a safe place before joining Ami."

Both girls nodded, and without another word, they grabbed onto Naru, Kobayashi, and Kenji and attempted to bring them to a safer place.

"But my daughter! Usagi, where is she?" Kenji demanded, refusing to budge.

"Kenji-papa, I think I saw her with the rest of the crowd," Rei replied, already making her way towards the door with Kobayashi and Naru in tow.

"Let's go see if she's safe, Kenji-papa," Makoto said hurriedly.

Thankfully, Kenji didn't protest anymore and within seconds, he'd left with Makoto.

For a split second, Minako wondered if there was, indeed, a backdoor, but she did not have time to think any further. Slipping into the shadows, she pulled out her henshin pen along the way.

Once she was safely confined from sight, she whispered the words that unleashed the powers of her home planet: "Venus Crystal Power, make up!"

In a flash of orange, she was transformed into Sailor Venus. Without a moment of hesitation, she ran towards the source of commotion and wasn't very surprised to see Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Kamen, and Sailor Mercury already on site. However, she was taken aback by the lack of fighting going on and even more shocked to find that they weren't facing a monster.

The young man in front of them was clad in deep blue. His eyes were not focused on anyone in particular, but Venus almost felt as if his eyes were constantly on her, spying on her, taking in her every move. It was an uncomfortable feeling and it made the hair at the back of her neck stand up. Although he was seemingly alone, danger hung in the air like a sword ready to strike down.

Sailor Mercury's eyes were firmly on the young man, though her fingers continued to fly across the keyboard of her mini computer. Both Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Kamen were in fighting pose, waiting for the opponent to make the first move.

"Prince Endymion," the young man finally spoke.

His voice was youthful, just like his features, yet there was a feeling of age behind it, the sort of maturity that could not, should not, be seen in someone so young.

Tuxedo Kamen stiffened, and disbelief flashed over his covered face. He narrowed his eyes, as if he was either trying to remember something or he was trying to recognize who this person was.

The young man finally looked up, and though Venus could finally see his deep-blue eyes, her skin crawled at the coldness and indifference she saw in there. A smile that was more like a sneer appeared on his face.

"You may had forgotten me, my dear Prince, but I doubt any of us could forget you," he continued.

 _Us?_ Venus noticed with alarm.

"Azurite, at your service," the young man introduced himself and gave a bow.

However, Venus couldn't help but sense mockery in both his words and stance.

"King Sisyphus would be pleased to see that you are again alive and well," he said, tilting his head upwards so that he was looking at Tuxedo Kamen.

Realization dawned on Tuxedo Kamen's face, and he straightened up. "You couldn't have scared away the people by yourself."

"Indeed, my powers aren't that impressive compared to my comrades," Azurite said.

"I never implied that you were weak," Tuxedo Kamen said coldly, "but I hardly believe that you would touch opponents whom you view as much lower than you."

"He remembers," a female voice suddenly spoke up.

Out of nowhere, a young woman clad in violet and red appeared, back to back with Azurite though her deep blue eyes were trained on them.

"No need to sound so surprise, dearest sister. The Moon Princess is, after all, with him," Azurite said.

"How do you know who we are?" Sailor Moon questioned.

"And she's taken on a soldier form," Azurite continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Would you look at that, Tourmaline. She's transformed like the rest of her other governesses."

Cautiously, Venus maneuvered until she was standing next to Mercury. At the same time, Jupiter and Mars ran into the room.

"They're all here, Azurite," Tourmaline said quietly with her eyes narrowed.

"No, not all of them," Azurite said, the nonchalance gone from his voice.

A certain alertness entered both his eyes and voice, and for the first time, he seemed wary about who he was facing.

"What are you doing here, Azurite?" Tuxedo Kamen spoke up. In a flash of light, his tuxedo, tall hat, and mask disappeared, replaced by the armor that signified the Prince of Earth.

"Who are they?" Venus whispered to Mercury.

"The computer is recognizing them, but I'll need a bit more time. They're obviously from a time before the fall of the Silver Millennium though," Mercury answered in a low voice, her fingers still flying over the keyboard.

"We are here ..." Azurite started to say, his eyes sliding over each and every person in the room before landing on Tuxedo Kamen again. "We are here … to thank you."

At this proclamation, everyone stared at him. Even Mercury took a spare moment to properly look at him before returning to her analysis.

"Thank me?" Endymion asked, his eyes narrowed again.

"Yes," Azurite answered with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "To thank you."

"From the bottom of our hearts," Tourmaline continued.

"And from our liege and master, King Sisyphus," Azurite added.

"For what?" Endymion questioned, taking a step forward.

"Patience is a virtue, our dearest Prince," Tourmaline answered mockingly.

With that said, both of them bowed and said, "Until we meet again, High Prince of Earth."

Before anyone could say something, they both disappeared into thin air.

It was a moment before anyone spoke, and Jupiter was the first to break the silence.

"What was that all about?" she asked with her face scrunched up.

"I don't get it. Were they just here to scare people or something? And who are they?" Moon inquired.

"They're from my past," Tuxedo Kamen answered slowly. He closed his eyes for a moment as if in thought before looking at Moon again. "I'll tell you everything later. Right now, let's make sure that everyone else is alright."

* * *

Thankfully, because of all the chaos, Usagi successfully made up some excuse for not appearing outside with the others, something along the lines of looking for her father as well. Therefore, she narrowly escaped from a ranting session from her father, or rather, Mamoru did.

Both Naru and her mother were devastated, both because of what happened and what might had happened.

Without saying anything, however, Takeo grabbed onto one of Usagi's pigtails and started pulling her away from the crowd. He did not even spare Mamoru or the rest of the girls a glance.

"Takeo! Let go of my hair!" Usagi squawked to which he ignored.

Given that he wasn't exactly hurting her, the others did not immediately stop him.

At the same time, Rei excused herself and walked in the opposite direction. From the corner of her eye, Ami saw her walking towards a tall man standing next to red sports car. She made a note to ask Rei about it before following after the rest of the people after Takeo and Usagi.

Takeo did not seem bothered by the fact that the rest of the group followed after him. In fact, he did not even acknowledge them. When they were a safe distance away from the rest of the crowd, Takeo finally released Usagi's hair, swirled around, and looked at her. For the first time that day, he had the look of utter seriousness on his face.

He did not immediately speak. Instead, he stared at Usagi until she couldn't take it anymore.

"What's the problem, Takeo?" she asked, straightening out her hair.

"I think you can answer that question better than I can, Usagi," Takeo said quietly, and suddenly he threw his hands up into the air. "Are you even Usagi?"

"What are you talking about? You know me, since we were children," Usagi protested.

"Exactly!" Takeo replied, running his hand through his hair. "I knew you since you were a child. I knew Tsukino Usagi since she was a child and she wasn't some kind of transforming Sailor Senshi who runs in the direction of danger."

Usagi blanched as the rest of them froze.

"You … were still in the exhibition?" she asked in a small voice.

"Your father wasn't the only person who was worried about you."

She paused, realizing for the first time why he was reacting this way.

"Takeo, I know you're angry, bu—"

"Angry? No, I'm not angry, Usagi. I'm downright furious with you. You shouldn't be in that exhibition when it was clear that there was danger in there. For goodness' sake, you should've been running away from danger. What happened to that girl that was afraid at the smallest possibility of hurting herself? Did you get possessed or something? Again, are you even Usagi anymore? I don't even know if I know you anymore!" Takeo ranted.

"Usa—" Ami began to say.

"Don't," he said, glaring at her. "I don't know who the hell you people are, but I'm not stupid. I know all of this must have started because you brought her into this."

"Actually, it might have been the other way around," Usagi said a bit sheepishly.

"I'm not finished being cross with you yet, so shut it," Takeo snapped.

"It's not Usako's fault," Mamoru spoke up.

As if there was a switch somewhere, Takeo's anger seemed to recede. He froze on the spot. He did not look at Mamoru, but all the same, he heard what he had said and he listened. Though his facial expressions were still furious, his shoulders slowly relaxed and his breathing became slightly steadier.

Ami watched from the sides, both surprised and amazed at the link that was there. This was a bond that was very similar to what she had with her Princess, with her comrades. It wasn't something that could be erased by time or reincarnation.

"I never said it was," Takeo answered with some difficulty, never meeting Mamoru's eyes.

"If we can, we would never put her in the line of danger," Mamoru continued. "You must understand this. We don't love her any less than you do."

"Takeo," Usagi said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I was the one who decided to fight."

Takeo stared at her as if she'd suddenly grown three heads.

Instead of feeling offended, Usagi smiled. "I don't want to be that tragic princess anymore. I don't want to stay by the sidelines, waiting for others to save me. I don't want to be helpless when people I love, such as Naru-chan and you, are in danger. I want to fight, Takeo. I want to protect all of you and this Earth, this planet that I love so much."

Her words seemed to have made an impact on him as he did not immediately answer. Instead, he appeared to be mulling over her words.

"But it's not your responsibility," Takeo finally said.

Usagi shook her head. "It's not. But if everyone thinks that way, there would be no one there to fight against the evil forces that want to take over this planet."

Takeo scoffed. "Now you're just making yourself seem like some kind of anime character."

"Not funny," she said, slapping him on the arm.

He rubbed his face and sighed. He stared off towards where the crowd was gathering for a while before he spoke again. "Have you told Kenji-papa and Ikuko-mama?"

"Um …" Usagi took a step backwards and looked at the others for help.

"You didn't—" Takeo closed his eyes, exasperated. "Are you telling me that you're running around in a miniskirt, fighting evil monsters with powers to kill you and you haven't bothered to notify your parents?"

"It's too dangerous for them to know," Makoto said.

His eyes widened in disbelief and his nostrils flared. "Too dangerous? Don't you think that not knowing would make them even more vulnerable? If your enemies knew who you were, they would target you and your family and your family would have no idea why they are being targeted, and do you know what people do when they have no idea what situations they are in? They do stupid things. It's irresponsible and stupid not to let your family know about what dangers they might be in. Or are you telling me that the enemies you've faced before never even bothered to attack your family when they've found out who are you? I find it extremely unlikely that they hadn't found out when you aren't exactly invisible when you transform."

"I …" Usagi trailed off and bit her bottom lip in thought.

"People don't remain lucky forever, Usagi," Takeo continued, throwing his hands up in the air. "Unless you can guarantee that no other 'force of evil' come our way, one day, they'll target your family and friends. If we know what we're up against, we'll take precautions and learn how to take care of ourselves."

"The reason we decided to not tell our family is because we didn't want to let them worry," Minako cut in. "And can you imagine how horrified they would be if they knew what we were going up against? They would probably lock us up in our rooms."

"Don't you think they would be even more worried if they couldn't find you?" Takeo asked. He jabbed his finger in the direction of where Kenji was standing. "I think you already know how worried he and Ikuko-mama are whenever they couldn't find Usagi while your enemies are attacking. Just in case you _don't_ remember, I saw your friends escort Kenji-papa out of the exhibition earlier. Perhaps they can help you remember that little detail. You people are like what? Eighteen? Nineteen? Well, you're no longer children so there are certain responsibilities that come with being an adult. I may be reckless at times but I still know that I should let my family know when I'm riding on the expressway to my grave, and don't tell me that you've never even thought of the possibility of dying out when you're fighting against those things, whatever they are."

Ami stared at Takeo, surprised at this new side of him. She had thought that he was arrogant and pompous (though she admitted that he did have talent in what he was doing), but this was something she had never considered as a part of his personality.

"But Takeo … if they knew, just like Minako-chan said, they would never let me out of my room," Usagi said softly.

"I'm not telling you to tell them every single detail. Soldiers! Soldiers would tell their family members if they were going off to war. Their family members might not be happy about it, but at least they know where to look if their children had gone missing," Takeo reasoned.

"He …" Ami spoke up softly, causing everyone to look at her. Cringing slightly, she continued, "He does have a point. At least they wouldn't be left wondering and upset. If … if anything were to happen to us, at least they knew we'd gone down fighting to save the world."

A corner of Takeo's lips tugged, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Embarrassed, Ami managed to return a swift smile before glancing away.

After a moment of hesitation, Usagi sighed. "I'll … think about it, Takeo. I really don't know how to tell Mom and Dad about this, I mean, after all these years …"

"It's difficult, but nothing in life is easy," Takeo said, rolling his eyes. He snorted. "You could always go in there and say, 'Hey look!' and transform right in front of them."

That caused the rest of the girls to laugh while Usagi frowned at him.

"Not funny, Takeo."

"I suggest not bringing Endy here along with you though," Takeo said, not noticing how Mamoru stiffened by the shortened usage of his alter ego's name. "I doubt Kenji-papa would appreciate it, especially when he's obviously less than fond about your boyfriend."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Usagi said with another sigh.

Before they could continue their conversation, loud gasps and yells were suddenly heard from the crowd that were congregating near the exhibition. The group of them immediately turned around.

* * *

As what had happened in their last encounter, Rei stood a good distance away from him. He leaned with his back towards the car, half resting his body on it.

"You came."

Annoyance flickered over his features, though he did not refute her words.

"I thought you didn't want to be part of this," Rei said.

"I didn't," Narushi grounded out.

"Then why did you come?" she asked.

Conflict appeared in his eyes and he looked away. "I don't report to you."

"No, you don't," she conceded and her eyes hardened. "You were supposed to report to someone else, but seeing that you decided to run away from your duties—"

He pushed himself away from his car. "I don't need you to reprimand me, Hino Rei. Like I've said, you're not my commander."

Instead of getting angry, Rei smiled.

"What are you smiling about?" he demanded.

"I don't report to you," Rei retorted.

Frustrated, he sucked in a deep breath. His muscles were tense and his hands were clenched into fists, as if he were trying to contain his anger and not lash out at her.

"Your commander," she softly spoke, and it didn't escape her notice that his body stiffened. She knew he was listening. "Your commander might be under dark influences again."

His eyes snapped towards her, a horrified look on his face. That wasn't what scared her. That wasn't what caused her to feel a sinking feeling inside her gut. It was the hint of knowledge in those eyes.

"You knew." She looked at him in disbelief. "You knew and that was the other reason why you decided to stay away. _**And you didn't bother to tell any of us**_."

"It was none of my busin—"

"Don't give me that excuse," Rei hissed.

Fury raged through her body and it took all of the control she had inside of her to not set the man in front of her on fire. He must've noticed the murderous look on her face, since he didn't answer. Instead, he shifted on his feet, as if he were preparing himself to fight.

"That was your Prince," she said through gritted teeth. " _ **Your**_ Prince. Reincarnation does not change that fact. I don't care if you choose to stay at the sidelines like a coward would do but it is your _**duty**_ to at least inform us so that we'll help him avoid the pitfalls."

"Don't you dare call me a coward," Narushi seethed, pushing away from his car and stalking up to her.

Though he easily towered over her, Rei refused to be intimidated by him.

"I will call you whatever fits you," she replied coldly.

For a moment, she wondered if he would raise his hand at her. However, seconds and minutes passed and he just stood there, glaring at her. If gazes could killed, Rei imagined that she would resemble nothing less than a porcupine right now.

"Why are you here today? You wanted out, so the logical thing would've been to stay away," Rei said.

Narushi clenched down on his jaw and he stepped away from her again. Without answering her, he opened the door to his sports car, got in, and drove away.

Rei did not bother stopping him, knowing that it would be pointless. As she contemplated the true reason why he was here today, the sounds of commotion caused her to look backwards. With horror, she watched as each and every person standing in the crowd there slump down to the floor, unconscious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love and food for the muse. :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely reviews and kudos!

The silence was deafening.

Although there were four people, none of them were talking. Ami sat on the bench, typing away on her mini-computer. Rei sat next to her, looking off in the distance and thinking. Minako leaned against one of the trees that were providing shade for them. As for Makoto, she stood with her back towards them, facing the wall and seething.

Biting down on her lower lip, Makoto pounded her fist into the wall.

"Mako-chan!" Rei exclaimed in worry.

"We shouldn't have let them get away," Makoto said through gritted teeth, disregarding the pain.

"None of us knew that this was going to happen," Minako said, looking off into the distance.

"Yes, but we should've guessed it," Makoto said. "We all found it strange and ridiculous for them to just show up to crash Takeo-san's exhibition. We should've guessed that there was something else behind this."

"We were taken by surprise," Minako said grimly. "It was strange, yes, but …" She shook her head.

"There's no point in blaming ourselves now," Rei said.

Minako nodded in affirmation.

"What are we going to do now? We have everyone lying unconscious inside and there's nothing we can do," Makoto growled, slamming her fist into the wall again and causing a crack to form there.

The tearstained face of Ikuko-mama.

The worry that was printed on every single feature of their Usagi's face.

The image of Shingo trying his best to act mature because of this unfortunate mess.

The thought of Kenji-papa lying in there, inside one of the hospital rooms, unconscious.

How they wished that they could be inside, giving support their beloved Princess! However, to prevent clogging up the hallways, the four Inner Senshi had decided to stay outside, while Mamoru, Usagi, Shingo, and Ikuko waited inside for information.

And Kenji-papa wasn't the only one who was in there, fighting for his life. Both Naru and her mother had fallen victim to whatever had been done to the people at the exhibition, and Takeo was inside, too, waiting. The Senshi speculated that this was also the reason why the family members of the other victims did not place the blame on Takeo.

Makoto hated this feeling of incompetence. She was supposed to be a Sailor Senshi. She was a protector of this Earth, this planet, and she had failed. Throughout the last couple of years, their memories of the Silver Millennium had slowly made their ways back into the Senshi's minds. Whenever she recalled how the Silver Millennium and the different planets that were part of the Alliance— _ **Jupiter**_ —had lied in ruins, an uncontrollable pain started in her heart and spread throughout her body. It made her all the more determined to protect those that she loved and the planet that had become her home.

Though she had faced many trials and failures during the first couple of years after she'd first transformed, she'd thought that she was passed that point. She had thought that nothing after Galaxia would get to them again. She'd thought that she had evolved enough so that she was a capable warrior who could protect Usagi, not the other way around.

But she was wrong, and Azurite and Tourmaline's "introduction" was vivid proof of her utter defeat.

"No, not everyone is unconscious," Ami spoke up.

The other three girls looked at her. She signaled for them to gather around her as she continued to type away on her mini-computer.

"I have here the list of the people who had been at the exhibition. The computer, as you all know, is linked to the database on the Moon, which is still updating the basic information as we speak to contain any new information that we will need to protect the Earth and, hopefully, the entire Solar System efficiently. If we need more detailed information, I'll have to get to a control center," Ami said. With another few taps, two numbers showed up on the screen.

"Seventy-three and eighty-two?" Makoto read.

"Eighty-two people were inside the exhibition when Azurite and Tourmaline attacked," Ami explained. She pointed at the other number. "Seventy-three is the number of people who are currently unconscious."

"Which means—" Minako gazed at Ami.

"Subtracting the four of us, Usagi-chan, and Mamoru-san, there were three other people who didn't fall victim to whatever happened at the exhibition," Ami said.

With another tap of her fingers, a list of names came up.

"Osaka Takeo, Yukimura Mikio, and …" Makoto trailed off, looking at the last name in stupor.

"That's not the same Kobayashi as Kenji-papa's co-worker, is it?" Minako asked, staring at the name in disbelief.

"If we are correct in our assumption that Takeo-san is one of the Shitennou, I don't think it would be presumptuous to assume that Yukimura-san and Kobayashi-san are as well," Ami reasoned.

"There's something wrong with Yukimura-san though," Rei mentioned.

Ami nodded. "I took note of him after I looked through the information."

She typed a few more commands into the computer and the profile of Mikio came up along with some statistics.

"The amount of negative energy surrounding normal humans is around one percent to twenty-five percent," Ami said, pointing to a specific figure on the screen.

"He has fifty-five percent," Makoto mused out loud.

"Which is not nearly as high as the enemies we were fighting in the past, whom had a range of seventy-five to ninety percent," Ami replied. "However—" She pressed another button on the computer. "—these are the negative energy output from Azurite and Tourmaline."

"Sixty-three and sixty-seven," Minako whispered.

"Right in the middle, just like Yukimura-san," Ami said.

"So you're saying that Yukimura-san might be influenced by Azurite and Tourmaline," Makoto concluded.

Ami shook her head. "Though they are formidable enemies, I don't think they have the power to taint Sailor crystals, even if it's only a fragment of it."

"So you're saying it's that King … King …" Makoto snapped her fingers trying to remember the name.

"King Sisyphus," Minako provided, frowning in thought. "I don't recall this name."

"You wouldn't," Ami replied. She then brought up more information on the computer screen. "According to what the system knows, and we will need confirmation from Mamoru-san, of course, Sisyphus is Prince Endymion's uncle."

"Mamoru-san's uncle?' Makoto asked, surprised. "Well, from his past life, but anyway …"

"But they seemed more antagonistic than friendly," Rei noted, deep in thought.

Ami nodded. "It's not surprising. It is said that Sisyphus was trapped by Prince Endymion's father."

"But he's human. How did he survive for so long?" Minako asked with a frown.

"I don't have information to figure that answer out and neither does the computer," Ami answered apologetically.

"Does it say where he was trapped?" Minako suddenly asked, taking a closer look at the computer screen.

"Unfortunately, no," Ami answered.

"What are you suspecting, Minako-chan?" Rei asked.

Stiffly, Minako straightened her back until she was standing upright. However, she did not immediately answer.

Makoto suddenly snapped her fingers. A look of realization, tainted by horror and disbelief, dawned on her face. "The cave that Yukimura-san mentioned."

"So King Sisyphus might've been trapped in that cave, the same cave Yukimura-san entered," Rei said. She gasped and covered her mouth as her eyes snapped towards Minako. "But if Yukimura-san is a Shitennou …"

Both Ami and Makoto looked at Minako. A faint blush painted her cheeks when she realized that everyone was looking at her. Makoto wondered what she was embarrassed about, but Minako's discomfort soon dissolved into determination, and she tilted her head just a bit higher.

"If he turns out to be our enemy, incapable of being redeemed," Minako said, "we do as we, as guardians to our lieges, are destined to do."

She glanced at each Senshi in turn.

"We shall eliminate any possible threat towards our Princess."

* * *

Takeo paced around in the hospital hallway. For the past hour he had been alternating between stalking in front of the door and sitting on the bench nearby. It killed him, inwardly, that his mother and younger sister were both inside there, and he had not idea what was going on. He didn't even know if they were properly alive at this point in time.

He'd thought about searching out Usagi and the others, but he knew that she was outside of Kenji's room, waiting for answers and news.

Rubbing his face with both hands, he slumped down on the bench again. What could he do? What was he supposed to do? Why was he one of the only ones to escape the fate of falling into a coma while his family members were inside? Selfishly, he almost wished that he was the one inside instead. At least he would know slightly more about what was going on. He wouldn't have to wait outside.

Helpless.

He hated the feeling of being helpless. It was one of the things that he had done everything to drive out of his life. He did not need the feeling of being in distress. He had learned early on that he wasn't as brawny as others and he probably would never become someone who could boast about his strength. However, his asset was his intelligence, and multiple times throughout his lifetime, he had used that to his advantage. He learned how to fight with his brains.

But now, this wasn't something his cleverness could solve.

"Hey," a voice suddenly spoke up as a person slid into the seat beside him.

Looking over, Takeo found a young man, probably around his own age, sitting there, and all he could do was stare.

It wasn't even because the young man sitting next to him was so beautiful that it made people wondered if Apollo himself had blessed him. Takeo was used to good-looking man. He himself was a beautiful man, and it wasn't even because he was being pompous; plenty of people had openly acknowledged his beauty. Usagi's man was also graced with looks that could make women turn around and stare. Heck, even Mikio could be considered a good-looking man when he wasn't being overly uptight. So no, it wasn't because of the young man's boyish good looks.

For the second time that day, Takeo had the chilling feeling of déjà vu, even though he couldn't remember where he had seen this young man before.

What scared Takeo even more was the fact that the young man was staring right back at him, his face pale, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"I …" the young man started to say before stopping abruptly, his eyes never leaving Takeo's face. After another moment of silence, he opened his mouth again. "Have … have we ever met before?"

Takeo couldn't trust himself to talk, so instead, he shook his head, though there was a moment when he wondered if he was giving the correct answer.

There was no Naru to break the strange tension in the air this time, and the two of them kept staring at one another as emotions welled up inside Takeo. The feelings were so foreign yet at the same time familiar to him. However, he couldn't place a name or place or date on it. It almost seemed as if there was a blank space of memory inside his mind.

_But that's impossible!_

Yet, he could not explain where else could the thoughts and emotions be coming from. For a short second, Takeo wondered if the young man was going through the same thing as he was, but a look at his face told Takeo that the answer was "yes". That, in and of itself, caused Takeo to become even more confused. How in the world did he know what the young man was thinking by just looking at him?

Did he go through the same thing when he first saw Mikio? Takeo did not remember. He only remembered that he met Mikio shortly before …

Before what?

Suddenly, a splitting pain overwhelmed Takeo, nearly making him keel over. The young man immediately steadied him. When the pain finally passed, Takeo met eyes with the young man again.

"Do you have it, too?" the young man asked quietly.

Without even knowing what the young man was exactly asking about, Takeo felt a shudder run down his spine.

Swallowing hard, Takeo asked, "What?"

"A piece of memory gone, as if it had been purposely deleted from our brains, and you can hardly remember anything that happened in those couple of months nearly five years ago."

* * *

Junryo Kobayashi gazed at him, Takeo Osaka, the man whom he and Kenji Tsukino was supposed to, if they were lucky, interview.

While Takeo did not answer his question, there was a glint of knowing, a glint of understanding in the back of his eyes. This was someone who had gone through the same thing Junryo had. Takeo Osaka, just like him, was missing his memories from the same exact time period. Memories that were locked. Memories that caused splitting headaches to form whenever he tried to access them.

It was for this reason that Junryo had decided to take on the job as a reporter. He got access to information first-handedly, even those that never make it to the public eye. Not to mention that there were archives and archives of things that he could look into, once he hacked into the computer system at work. However, his computer skills were never as well as … whom?

For some reason, especially starting from the period after their "memory blank status", as he had come to call it, he was always comparing his skills to someone else, and not just one person. There, inside his mind, always floated several vague figures that he would compare himself to, but he could never place a face or name on them. It frustrated him and only drove him to look for answers even more.

"What do you want to do?" Takeo finally asked.

The question was so familiar, as if it had been asked a thousand times, and Junryo couldn't help but chuckle. A warm feeling filled his insides— _ **he wasn't insane**_ —and this moment, right now, in the hospital, though there were patients who might be dying, he felt relief, the kind of relief that one found when they found a long-lost friend or a long-lost relative.

Gazing at Takeo, he allowed a smile on his face. "Help me hack into the computers at work."

* * *

Ami sat outside of the hospital bench as she gazed at her mini-computer. Every so often, she would type another command into it. The other girls had decided to grab some refreshments and had promised to bring her something as well while she busied herself by attempting to find more information. She awfully wanted to get to a command center soon. However, they didn't want to leave before receiving more information about the victims.

Movement in front of the hospital caught her attention and caused her to look up from the screen. Frowning, she watched as two young men—two _familiar-looking_ young man—emerge from the hospital. She looked on with widened eyes as Junryo Kobayashi and Takeo Osaka walked, shoulder to shoulder, and whispered with one another.

The terrible feeling of fear left a bad taste in her mouth. After the possibility of Mikio Yukimura being under dark influences, she was left with no other option but to suspect everything she saw, especially when she saw two possible Shitennou being so friendly with one another. What if they were somehow corrupted as well? What if they were part of the enemy's team as well?

Then, she recalled that the computer had not detected any negative vibes from them, and that made her relax just a bit. It wasn't like her to jump to conclusions so quickly. However, the Shitennou's record of being brainwashed and brought over to the dark side wasn't exactly a glowing recommendation when it came to earning her trust.

At that moment, Takeo looked over and caught sight of her, causing her to lower her head immediately. Embarrassment at being caught staring caused a furious blush to appear on her cheeks, and more than anything, she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. As it was, the Earth wasn't so friendly and she was left sitting there awkwardly.

What if he thought that there was wrong with her? What if he thought that she liked him? Well, she didn't exactly hate him, but what if he thought she had _romantic_ feelings towards him? Oh, the horror of that possibility! She did not even want to think of that. It made the redness on her cheeks deepen another two shades in color.

"Hey."

She jolted backwards, not quite certain when he had walked up to her.

"Hello," she answered with some difficulty.

Much to her surprise, he shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Listen," he began almost carefully.

She ogled at him, not sure what she should say.

"Back … there," he said, tilting his head in the general direction of where the exhibition had been, "outside, after those two goons showed up, I …" He heaved a sigh. "Look, I just want to apologize for raising my voice at you. You … from the little I know of you, you seem like a decent person, and I know you wouldn't want to put Usagi in dangerous situations if you don't have to. So … yeah … sorry about it."

A suspicious tint of pink appeared on his cheeks at the end of his cheeks, but he continued looking at her, presumably waiting for an answer, but she didn't have an immediate response for him. It was all just too strange. Out of all things, she had not expect him to give her an apology, and from his attitude, it seemed like he wasn't very accustomed to apologizing either. Her confusion must had shown on her face, judging from the next words that left his mouth.

"Apologizing when you are wrong is the decent thing to do."

Her eyes widened, and a second later, a soft smile appeared on her face. "Thank you … and apology accepted."

Perhaps it was the sincerity of her words or perhaps it was the kind expression on her face, but the atmosphere surrounding them visibly became less tense, and his lips curved into a grin.

Lowering her eyelashes out of shyness, she caught sight of Junryo from the corner of her eye.

"Um … it might be a bit intrusive but if you don't mind me asking a question …?"

Takeo raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't tell me you want an interview as well."

Her eyes flickered up at him in shock.

"I'm kidding," he immediately said, raising both of his hands up. When she didn't say anything, he cleared his throat awkwardly before asking, "So what did you want to ask?"

Tentatively, she glanced towards Junryo, causing him to raise his eyebrow again.

"I don't know him all that well, to be honest. I just met him today, so I don't know if he has a girlfriend or not."

At this, a small bit, just a tiny, eensy, little bit, of annoyance made it into her eyes, and perhaps even channeled into her powers, judging from his reaction.

"Whoa! Chill—oops, wrong word—calm down, Yuki-onna*," he said, his voice almost a squeak. "That was a joke as well."

Stunned at the nickname he had chosen for her, her anger slowly ebbed away, replaced by deep thought.

Though she greatly disliked having people distort her intentions, she wondered why there was an abnormal amount of irritation inside her directed towards him. He hadn't done anything wrong towards her—at least, in his current form, he hadn't done anything at all towards her. His previous comment was very obviously a joke, but the fires of indignation just flared up before she could stop herself. Thankfully, she'd calmed down enough to control her powers to not turn him into a block of ice right then and there.

Just when she opened her mouth to speak, the vacancy behind Takeo visibly rippled—the signs of someone or some _ **thing**_ teleporting in.

"Watch out!" she shouted, immediately standing up and pulling him behind her.

At the same time, the ripples swirled and within a matter of milliseconds, Azurite appeared.

"You …" Takeo whispered.

There was no doubt in Ami's mind that the anger present in his voice was due to the fact that both his sister and mother were inside the hospital right now because of Azurite. She only hoped that he wouldn't do something stupid because of that emotion.

"Oh, you know who I am. So I guess I wouldn't have to introduce myself," Azurite said, landing on the ground. He paused before saying, "I thought he said that you wouldn't have your memories."

_He?_

"My what?" Takeo asked.

Azurite gazed at him, his eyes calculating. Throughout the short conversation, he had paid Ami no heed. Ami, on the other hand, now had her computer put away and her hand was firmly gripping onto her henshin pen inside her pocket.

"I asked you, 'My what?'" Takeo demanded again.

The corners of Azurite's lips slowly curved upwards as he observed Takeo, and the outcome was more a smirk than a normal smile. Suddenly, a terrible feeling welled up inside Ami as her mind fully processed what was happening.

He was here for Takeo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love and food for the muse. :)
> 
> *Yuki-onna: Literally means "Snow woman", "Snow lady", etc. It's, according to Wikipedia, a popular figure in Japanese literature, manga, film, and animation.
> 
> Takeo will explain this in a later chapter, but I figure I'll leave it here first, so my readers wouldn't have to run off to Wikipedia ;).


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews! I'm so happy to hear that you all are enjoying this story so far. :)

_He was here for Takeo._

Whoever had gotten their hands on Mikio— _ **Sisyphus**_ —was now here for Takeo.

As her heart thudded against her chest, she tightened the grip around her henshin pen. Ami prayed that her Senshi sisters would be back soon. Subconsciously, she reached backwards and grabbed onto Takeo, if only to make certain that he was still behind her.

Perhaps he knew what he was worrying about because the next second, he wrapped his hand around hers, giving it a reassuring squeeze.

Azurite took a step towards him, his eyes on Takeo.

"Word of advice, since we had known one another at one point in time," he said nonchalantly, "it would be much less painful for you to come along with me quietly and obediently."

"I don't have any reasons to trust you," Takeo said. "After all, you've joined the evil side, haven't you?"

Surprised, Ami whipped her head around and stared at him.

_He has his memories!?_

"Oh, don't give me that," Azurite sneered. "Don't play the 'holier than thou' card when you yourself had been taken by the Dark Kingdom. Just because we'd been locked inside that cave doesn't mean we don't know what's happening on Earth."

Something flashed through Takeo's eyes, and momentarily, his eyes flickered over to Junryo, who gave him an imperceptive nod. Just as quickly, Takeo's eyes were back on Azurite.

"What have you done to Mikio? I don't believe that he would've joined you willingly," Takeo said before Azurite could look backwards and notice Junryo.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?" Azurite asked.

Takeo laughed. "I'm hardly interested in hearing words from someone who was brainwashed or under evil influences. They never include a figment of truth in them." He paused before saying, "So back in that cave in Malawi, Mikio accidentally released you, you and your little group of miscreants."

An ugly look appeared on Azurite's face and he growled, "Miscreants? How dare you call us miscreants?"

Takeo sniffed haughtily. "Of course you're miscreants." His eyes slid to one side and for a moment, Ami thought she saw uncertainty. "Why else would our liege lock you inside that cave if you weren't?"

"You know full well why we were locked in there," Azurite said angrily, taking a step forward.

"Yeah, because the group of you were miscreants," Takeo said, his face brightening.

"You—"

It almost seemed as if Azurite would attack him then and there. However, he inhaled deeply and soon had his temper back under control, though his eyes were still flashing dangerously.

"I'm not here to argue with you. Now come along. Don't make me force you," Azurite said.

Takeo laughed. "Does it look like it would be easy for you to force me to come along with you?"

Azurite paused, his eyes contemplative once again.

Takeo's hand tightened around Ami's but she hardly noticed it. Her mind was overworking on the fact that he had his memories back. When did it happen? As far as she knew, none of them should remember anything. At least, that was what Helios had told them. What was going on? Did Takeo have more information on King Sisyphus? If that was the case, she would have to do everything within her power to stop Azurite from abducting him. But what if Takeo had his memories because he was on Azurite's side? But if he were, he didn't have any reason to display this act in front of her. There didn't seem to be any point to it.

"You don't have your powers," Azurite finally said.

"You can't be certain about that," Takeo said with a confident grin.

"Well then," Azurite said slowly, his eyes narrowed and his lips curved upwards in a lazy smile. "Since you won't come along quietly …"

"Did you actually think that I would?" Takeo asked with a laugh.

"... then we will have to—"

"Jupiter Oak Evolution!"

It was like the sound of a blessing or the angels singing. Ami didn't know and didn't care anymore, even when Azurite managed to duck away from Sailor Jupiter's attack. All that matters was that the other Senshi were here, and her heart soared before her intelligent mind remembered something else. A crucial word.

" _... then we will have to …"_

" … _we …"_

_**We.** _

Before Ami could alert the others, a strangely sweet smell filled her nostrils. As her head swirled, she tightened her grip around Takeo's hand, and right before she fell unconscious, she felt the familiar sensation of being warped away.

* * *

"Ami-chan!" Jupiter yelled as she witnessed her friend and Takeo being teleported away by a man dressed in black.

"Retreat," he said simply to Azurite before he, too, disappeared into thin air.

"Till the next time we meet, ladies," Azurite said sarcastically with a bow.

Before the Senshi could stop him, he vanished.

"Ami-chan," Mars whispered softly, her hand on her mouth.

Jupiter and Venus both stared at the place where Ami and Takeo had been just seconds before, unable to speak or move, and they probably wouldn't have, if Junryo hadn't chosen that moment to stumble over to that precise area.

Like a wounded being, Jupiter immediately leapt over to where Junryo was standing and grabbed him by his neckline.

"You had something to do with this, didn't you? That's why they've caught him and not you!" she shouted into his face.

"What the—"

"Jupiter!" Venus exclaimed, shock written all over her features.

"Jupiter, stop!" Mars ran over to where Jupiter was and grabbed the hand that was holding onto Junryo. "He doesn't have any negative energy surrounding him. You know that. You've seen … what was in the data."

Jupiter's arm shook as the truth of Mars's words was processed in her mind. Biting back tears, she released Junryo's shirt.

As if he hadn't just been at the receiving end of Jupiter's anger, Junryo straightened the shirt he was wearing before he tilted his head upwards to look at Jupiter. Cold fury swam in his eyes and it was huge contrast to the calmness that he had pulled over his face.

"If this is how you deduce who are your enemies and who are you friends, no wonder your friend got snatched away right in front of your eyes," Junryo said.

With a growl, Jupiter attempted to lunge at him, but fortunately for Junryo, she was held back by Venus and Mars.

"Jupiter, stop. Now," Venus commanded.

Despite still breathing heavily, Jupiter allowed her muscles to relax. However, her eyes were still glaring at Junryo.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Kobayashi Junryo. We have every right to suspect you, even if there are no negative energy surrounding you," she spat out.

"What? Just because I've been kidnapped by the Dark Kingdom?" Junryo said just as coldly.

Jupiter, Mars, and Venus stared.

"You have your memories?" Venus asked quietly.

"Unfortunately, I don't," Junryo said, his anger barely repressed. "And mind you, I'm not particularly happy about this because I'm being randomly attacked by Jupiter here for things that I don't even remember."

"Then how do you remember the Dark Kingdom?" Mars asked.

Perhaps it was because Mars's voice was calm and held no accusations or perhaps it was because the person who'd asked was not Jupiter, but when Junryo answered, it held a lot less malice and plenty of more confusion and unhappiness.

"I don't remember it. Granted, I did felt as if I should know that name when that person that kidnapped your friend and …" Junryo trailed off, a look of deep thought on his face.

"Were you friends with Takeo-san?" Mars asked, releasing her grip on Jupiter and taking a step forward towards him.

Junryo shook his head. "No … yes … I don't know. I feel like we should be, but … everything is ..." He sighed. "I don't even know how to explain it to you."

"Please try," Mars said.

"Why do you care?" Junryo asked, curiosity entering his eyes.

Mars shook her head. "There are reasons … but it's not my place to tell you."

"Everybody!"

Jupiter, Mars, and Venus turned around, only to find Usagi and Mamoru walking towards them.

"Why are you trans—Oh!" Usagi halted in her words when she noticed Junryo.

Mamoru, on the other hand, stopped in his tracks the moment he saw him. Junryo's face turned pale, and he took a step backwards. Out of reflex, Mamoru reached out his arm towards Junryo but stopped in the middle.

As if he'd been struck, Junryo cringed. Before anyone could react, he did something that froze everyone on the spot.

He ran.

* * *

 

He didn't know how far he had run. Perhaps he had been running ever since he realized he was missing a part of his memories.

Finally, he stopped and leaned against the wall of the building. His body shivered from the emotions that overwhelmed him.

The pigtailed woman … she must be Usagi Tsukino, the daughter of his boss … the man standing next to her must be the boyfriend she'd mentioned at the exhibition …

Junryo wasn't a coward. He never considered himself a coward. But the moment he saw Usagi's boyfriend, he felt fear. He was afraid. He didn't know what he was afraid of, since that man looked kind enough. But there was something inside him that told him that if he made further contact with that man, he would be confronted with his deepest nightmares.

_Why are you running? You wanted answers, didn't you?_

He wanted to know the truth, but he didn't know if he were ready for the nightmares.

_But what if the truth is the nightmare itself?_

Junryo scrubbed his face with his hand, removing the sweat. It wasn't from the running, that much he knew. He wasn't the type to visit the gym all the time, but that short sprint was hardly enough to make him break a sweat. No, this … this was cold sweat. He felt as if a boulder had been dropped on his gut, and he wanted to retch out everything he had eaten since that morning. However, he didn't.

He couldn't.

He continued to run.

* * *

"Mamo-chan?" Usagi asked tentatively, worry swimming in her eyes.

He didn't immediately answer. He couldn't immediately answer. He'd just watched one of his friends— _he refused to use the word "former"_ —run away. Was he such a terrible and scary liege that none of them were willing to return to him?

When Helios had approached him with the plan, he'd thought that it would be, at most, a matter of weeks before he had his friends back. While they had been in the stones, he had been led to believe that they were close to him, like brothers. But no. Life was, yet again, cruel to him.

"Do you know which Shitennou he was, Mamoru-san?" Venus asked carefully.

Her words broke him out of his daze. Forcing a smile on his face, he first patted Usagi on the hand.

"I'm fine. Don't worry. I was just …" He sucked in a deep breath. "I was just shocked. That's all." He looked towards Venus. "Yes, I do know who he … I do know which Shitennou he is."

"So you know … if Takeo is also a Shitennou?" Venus asked.

Mamoru nodded. "Yes, he is."

Mars, Venus, and Jupiter kept their eyes at him, and he realized that they were waiting for him to tell them.

"Jadeite and Zoisite," he said, his voice near a whisper.

It was at that moment that he realized how much it hurt just to speak their names out loud, even more so now that Jadeite had chosen to run away from him.

"What about Yukimura-san?" Venus asked.

"Mamoru-san wasn't there when Takeo-san introduced him to us," Mars replied.

It was Mamoru's turn to stare at Venus and Mars. "Yukimura-san?"

"Yukimura Mikio. He was a friend of Takeo-san's. We … suspect that he might be another one of the Shitennou," Venus explained with some difficulty.

Mamoru stood there, shell-shocked. Just when he thought that nothing could surprise him even more, Mars spoke up.

"Mamoru-san … you might want to prepare yourself," she said.

Mamoru could almost see her mentally choosing which words was better.

"Yukimura-san … might be under negative influences," she finished.

Mamoru swayed on the spot.

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi exclaimed, concerned.

Closing his eyes, he held up his hand and shook his head, trying to signify to her not to worry.

"It's … fate …" Mamoru said slowly. With a bitter laugh, he said, "I should've expected it, shouldn't I? Mars did mention the karmic circle and everyone did say that it was extremely hard to break that."

"Mamo-chan," Usagi said as she embraced him, burying her head in his chest.

He took the comfort she gave, thanking the heavens above that at least he had her by his side.

"At least we know why I was having headaches for the past couple of days," he said, attempting to joke with her.

In answer, she hugged him a bit tighter instead. He sighed and rested his head on hers, wondering where everything went from here.

His mind was in chaos (pun not intended), and he had no idea what to do anymore. He didn't even know where the boundaries were. Helios had been vague, to say the least, and Mamoru had no idea if he would be free to even approach the Shitennou on his own. He was just so … lost.

"There's something else," Jupiter spoke up.

The tone of her voice scared Mamoru, and he almost wanted to tell her to stop. However, there was something in there that also told him that this was something of importance. Therefore, he braced himself for whatever she had to say.

But he truly believed that nothing would've prepared him enough for what she said next.

"Ami and Takeo … they got taken by Azurite."

* * *

Finally, he stopped.

Placing both hands on his knees, he tried to catch his breath. With emotions still running high, it was no easy task though he welcomed the trouble. It gave him time to think about where he should go next.

Glancing around him, he found himself in unfamiliar territory.

No. That would be a lie.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that he had been here before. Everything was both familiar and unfamiliar to him, from the bus stop hardly two meters away from him to the flight of stairs leading upwards to who-knew-what. No, he knew he had been here before.

And for some reason, he knew it must've been during those missing days of his life.

The area was peaceful. Light wind blew amongst the trees. The street itself wasn't exactly barren, but there was a lot less people than the other streets he had just passed by. Junryo was almost not surprised to see that most of the people who traveled this way made their way up the staircase.

Almost as if he knew what stood at the top of that small hill.

A small group of schoolgirls softly chatted with one another as they descended the staircase, and a couple of them shot bashful glances towards him before dissolving into soft giggles. However, his attention was hardly on them.

He kept his eyes focused on the staircase, trying to decide what to do.

A small part of him urged him to continue running. A larger part, however, instructed him to go up. He had no idea why. It wasn't as if he would get any help in recovering his memories up there.

Would he?

He did not know. All he knew was the interesting combination of guilt and hope festering at the pit of his stomach.

The soft noise of something falling to the ground beside him caught his attention, and he tilted his head towards the object, only to find …

A talisman for good luck in love.

He didn't know why he knew that, but he knew that this meant that there must be a shrine up there.

Crouching down, he picked it up just as one of the schoolgirls approached him.

"I'm terribly sorry. That omamori was mine," she said.

Glancing at her, he straightened up his body before handing the talisman back to her.

Ignoring her hopeful gaze and the muffled giggles from the other girls, he looked towards where the shrine should be. Tentatively, he took the first step forward, and before he could lose his courage, he climbed all the way to the top of the stairs.

His mind faintly registered that the name of the temple was "Hikawa Shrine". Two crows stood on top of the booth where talismans were being sold, and he couldn't help but imagine that they were eying him with suspicion. Somehow, he had no doubt that if he took one step out of line, they would not hesitate in attacking him.

A young man with shaggy hair that covered most of his face was busy selling the talismans; other than that, Junryo could not spot another volunteer.

"Would you like to work here as a volunteer?" a voice spoke up behind him.

Junryo swirled around, perhaps a bit too quickly, but the short, old man standing behind him appeared unfazed. A grin was still imprinted on the old man's face, but so was mild confusion.

"Say … have you been here before?" the old man asked.

"I …" Junryo started to say before he realized how dry his throat was. Swallowing hard, he attempted to speak again, "I don't know."

Upon hearing this, the smile dropped from the old man's face. "You are troubled, young man."

Junryo nodded, running a hand through his hair.

"You say you don't know instead of yes or no … why are you so uncertain, young man?" the old man asked.

A bitter smile appeared on Junryo's face. "A piece of my memory from five years ago is missing … I don't know what happened then … but I just know that … I don't even know how to say this without it sounding strange, but I felt a pull towards this shrine while I was … walking past it."

He wasn't sure why he was telling the old man all of this. He didn't even know the old man, but for some reason, he just did.

Almost as if he wanted to explain himself.

The old man hummed in thought and rocked back and forth on his heels. "Five years ago, five years ago … there had been a young man who'd worked here five years ago." He observed Junryo's features a bit closer. "Five years is a long time and I'm afraid my memories are not what they used to be, especially since he hadn't been here for very long before he disappeared. I just recall that he was a very handsome young lad, just like yourself, and the young girls he would attract here were numerous."

The words from the old man tugged on something inside his mind. It was almost like a forgotten dream, one that he was desperately trying to remember, but every time he thought he'd grasped onto it, it was gone.

"Do you want to recover those memories?" the old man asked.

Junryo stared at him. At that moment, he knew, this was the moment, the deciding moment. Either he walked away and be plagued by missing memories forever, or he took it on and embraced his past.

And his future.

He didn't know why, but he knew if he answered "yes" to the old man's question, his future would be decided for him. There would be no turning back. His days would no longer be normal and he wouldn't be just "Kobayashi Junryo" any longer. Millions of could bes whirled through his mind. He lost track of time, and he was thankful that the old man had the patience to wait for his answer.

In the end, he gave the only answer he could give.

"Please … help me."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love. :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the wonderful reviews!

Weak …

She felt so weak.

It was as if she hadn't eaten for three days or right after an especially challenging battle.

"Hey …" a voice called out to her, but it seemed so very far away.

She scrunched up her face in concentration, trying to fight the fatigue away.

"Please wake up," the voice whispered to her. "Please …"

She bit down hard on her lower lip and attempted to open her eyes.

"Yes, yes, you can do it! Please, please open your eyes."

Her eyelids fluttered, and the first thing she saw was Takeo's worried face hovering over her.

"Oh, thank the heavens you're awake," he sighed out in relief.

"Where … where are we?" Ami asked feebly as she attempted to sit up.

Takeo reached out and helped her. "I don't know, but if I had to guess, it's probably one of that so-called king's secret hideout."

That was when Ami noticed their surroundings. They seemed to be confined within some kind of cave. The air surrounding them was damp and warm, and she resisted the urge to fan herself, knowing that it wouldn't do her any good. The only reason Ami still could see anything was because of the crack on the ceiling. Judging from the amount of light they were getting, it was still daytime.

"We can't possibly be in Africa," Ami said, alarmed.

Takeo grimaced. "I don't know, but there's one thing I know for sure, and that is I must get out of here as soon as possible."

"Well, of course. Nobody likes to be captured—"

"No," Takeo cut in, agitated. "No, no, no, it's not like that. I mean, I was under the impression that you were intelligent. Why do you think they've captured me? Right now, I'm in danger of getting … converted or whatever you call the situation Mikio is under."

At first, Ami was irritated by his jab on her intelligence, but it was quickly wiped away the moment she realized what he was talking about. She observed him quietly. He noticed the look on her face and raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"How do I know you're not converted already?" Ami asked calmly.

"Wha—Are you serious?" Takeo threw up his hands in the air out of exasperation. "You have super powers, don't you? Just use whatever method you use to check!"

Ami mulled over her options. A quick pat on her pocket had told her that her henshin pen was still there. If Takeo had already been converted, she doubted that he would've allowed her to keep that since he already knew that she was one of the Senshi. However, a double check probably wouldn't do any harm.

Reaching into another pocket, she was more than relieved to find that her mini-computer was also still on her. She thanked Selene and every gods and goddesses there were that Azurite and the others had underestimated her.

With a quick few commands, the computer showed her the results she needed to know. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she was about to give Takeo a nod, signifying that he was in the clear, before she proceeded to find a way to alert her friends when she noticed that he was no longer standing in front of her. Instead, he was standing right next to her, looking at the mini-computer in awe.

"Um … Takeo-san?" she asked carefully.

"Shhh … just continue what you are doing," he said, pointing at the mini-computer.

"You're not … um … contaminated," she reported.

"I know that already," Takeo said with a roll of his eyes before gazing at the mini-computer with reverence again. "So … just continue using that … what is it anyway? I mean, it's sort of like a Palm Pilot, but I could bet my whole bank account that it's not. What does it do, actually? No wait, the real question is, how does it—"

"Can we concentrate on getting out of here first?" Ami asked.

Though she was surprised about his enthusiasm towards higher technology, she didn't think that now was the perfect time for questions about it. With a light blush, she then realized that in her worry, her words might've come across as harsher than her feelings behind them.

"Sorry, I'm just worried that they might come in and … well …" she explained.

"Hey, no harm done," he waved off her apologies. "You were right anyway. It's much more important to get out of here alive." With a grin, he added, "Though I wouldn't say no if you would allow me to look at that at a later time."

Ami couldn't resist smiling back at him before she remembered something else. "Do you have your memories back?"

Takeo first glanced at her, surprised, and then a guarded look appeared in his eyes. "Do you know something about me?"

"I—" Ami bit down on her lips, not sure how to answer.

"Do you?" Takeo pressed on.

When she failed to answer, he threw his head back and sighed.

"Why does everyone seem to know something about me? Something being things that I myself have no idea about?" he asked, reverting his stare back on her. "This is ridiculous."

"So you don't remember anything?" she asked, picking up on the crucial words.

"I—" He stopped in his words and sucked in a deep breath. In a lower volume, he said "Check first. I want to know if they're listening in to what we're talking about."

Ami gasped and mentally scolded herself for not remembering to do just that. Perhaps she had been too used to the fact that the other enemies they had fought against had never bothered with capturing them. Even when they did, she was mostly unconscious and never had the chance to speak with her friends.

Unbidden, the words of Helios came to her mind.

" _Against non-humans, yes. But can you really tell me that you can lead armies to fight against human beings?"_

Were Azurite and the others humans though? She had no idea, but from the data she'd gotten, it appeared that they were, except they were higher forms, such as Mamoru and the Shitennou.

Regardless, she had to admit that there were still many aspects about regular humans that she and her friends would have to learn to ensure that Crystal Tokyo would make a smooth transition. In that aspect, perhaps Helios was correct in his analysis after all.

Her friends … she wondered what they were doing right now. They were bound to be worried. Perhaps she could somehow contact them with her mini-computer when she got the chance? But first things first. She needed to check if they were being monitored.

The computer confirmed that they were not being listening in to, but there was someone guarding the only way out of their prison. Another few taps showed her that the walls weren't exactly soundproof, so if they did not want the other person hearing what they were talking about, they would need to keep it down.

She frowned, hoping that Takeo hadn't given too much away during his little fanboy moment over her mini-computer.

In a soft voice, she notified him of their situation. He, too, frowned but nodded in agreement to her suggestion to keep their voices low.

"Thankfully, Azurite doesn't see you as a threat. So that's our trump card right now," Takeo said quietly. "Unless absolutely necessary, do not do anything rash. It's our surprise attack and we need it at the most crucial moment if we want to get out of here."

"But what if they … what if they convert you?" Ami asked.

"They won't. Not immediately. It seems like it used a lot of whatever they're using to convert people to convert Mikio, so they need some time before they even attempt to do anything to me. From what I've gathered while they tried to get me to side with them willingly, if something happens while they're trying to convert me, it's going to hurt King Sisyphus. Significantly."

There was a glint in Takeo's eyes that frightened Ami.

"No."

"Yes."

"No, you're not risking yourself, Osaka-san," she hissed.

"Ugh, I feel like you're calling my parents. Takeo-san is fine … I don't even know your name yet," Takeo said.

"Mizuno Ami, and please don't change the subject on me," Ami replied, not bothering to mention that Naru did mention her name to him while they were back at the exhibition.

"Listen, Ami-san. They're going to try to convert me no matter what we do. We don't know where we are right now, and we don't know if your friends will find us. On the off chance that they don't find us, we'll need a back-up plan, and this will be our back-up plan—"

"I disagree," Ami interrupted with a stony face. "It's risking your well-being, and if I do that—"

"It's beneficial to our side," Takeo interrupted. "Look, I don't remember what happened. Something, something important, must had happened in the past, but I don't remember a single damned thing, and nobody is willing to give me more information."

He looked at her pointedly, causing her to bow her head to avoid his gaze.

A nearly inaudible sigh escaped him before he said, "Disregarding what happened in the past, I know … somewhere deep inside me that I must've done something horrible, and I want to … I _**need**_ to do something to alleviate that guilt that's been bothering me since who knows when."

Ami's head snapped up and she looked at him.

No, this wasn't fake. She knew it wasn't. The guilt on his face and the regret in his voice … even when he had no idea what he had done.

" _They were good men before they were brainwashed and some of the things they had done weren't … they would never had done those things if they hadn't been brainwashed."_

She couldn't control shivers from running up her spine. She whispered, "Thank the heavens."

"What?" Takeo asked, frowning.

"Oh!" she gasped, covering her mouth, and her cheeks reddened. "I'm just glad that they haven't brainwashed you yet."

He snorted. "Yeah, you and me both."

She gave him a smile as he blew a strand of hair away from his face, glad that he hadn't caught her in her little lie. What she was really glad about was the fact that she had voted to give the Shitennou a chance. From what she was witnessing now, it seemed like she had made the correct choice.

She was extremely glad that she hadn't condemned a good person to eternal life as a bodiless soul.

"So … since you don't have your memories back, you were tricking Azurite back in front of the hospital?" Ami asked.

Takeo grinned and gave her a wink. "It was just too easy." He then sighed and a small frown appeared on his face. "And I needed the information. I …"

Ami looked at him questioningly.

He laughed softly and rubbed his face with his hand. "Look at me now. I don't even know where I stand in this war."

"You don't … You're not thinking about _**joining**_ the—"

"Pfft, not a chance. That was never an option, okay? Especially what happened at the exhibition," Takeo replied. A solemn expression appeared on his face. "It's just … I know you are one of the legendary heroines, one of the good guys who keep saving mankind and this Earth over and over again. I mean, it's been all over the news, but …"

He gazed at her with an intensity that suddenly made Ami uncomfortable.

"Just how much can I trust you, Mizuno Ami?"

* * *

The smoke rose up from the cup as Rei poured tea into it. Expertly and calmly, she filled each of the remaining four cups before placing the teapot back on the coaster and sitting back on her cushion.

However, nobody touched their teacups. Each of them were immersed in their own thoughts. Usagi hugged her knees to her chest, her eyes still red and wet from crying. Mamoru had his arm around her, trying to comfort her despite his own pains. Makoto stared at her teacup in deep thought, though she did not touch it. Minako gazed out the door, towards the line of trees not too far away.

Rei closed her eyes and bit down on her lower lip. For once, she wished that her divination powers were as strong as they were back during the Silver Millennium. At least, then, they would have some way of finding Ami and Takeo. Now, however, the lack of any news from Luna and Artemis, who were working on it at the Command Center, was putting her on edge.

"He was your uncle," Minako spoke up suddenly.

Mamoru's eyes landed on her, and wordlessly, he nodded.

"How is he still alive?" she asked.

Though her voice was emotionless, Rei knew. Sailor Venus was in her leader mode, and she would do anything to save their sister. Right now, Minako needed to be clear-headed and accurate, whether it came to questions or answers.

"I don't exactly know, since most of the details in my mind are still vague," Mamoru confessed after a moment of thought, "but I do know that he had been sealed away by my grandfather."

"Your grandfather?" Makoto asked, surprised. "I thought your father sealed him away."

Mamoru shook his head. "No, it was my grandfather, King Aeolus." He looked off into the distance as if he were trying his best to remember. "At that time, he had a good number of children. Each were talented in their own way, but it was my father, King Aethlius and my uncle, Sisyphus, who were looked upon as the next heir to the throne. In the end, my grandfather favored my father, and he was made Crowned Prince to the Golden Kingdom."

"I'm sure Sisyphus would be so delighted to hear that news," Rei said sarcastically.

"It shouldn't come as a surprise that he tried to assassinate my father multiple times," Mamoru said with a grim look. "He failed, of course, and my father forgave him. But my grandfather, however, did not. After three failed attempts, Sisyphus was confronted by my grandfather. He refused to listen; my grandfather, seeing that there was no hope in redeeming Sisyphus, sealed him away, hoping that one day, he might see the wrongness in his actions."

"How was he able to survive so long? What about Azurite and Tourmaline? Who are they? We also saw someone else. He abducted Ami-chan and Takeo-san. Who was that?" Minako asked.

"To be honest, I have no idea how he'd survived for so long. I only recall seeing Sisyphus once, right before I was crowned as high prince of Earth. At that time, my father had hoped that enough years had passed for my uncle to put down his hatred. Sisyphus, however, threatened that if he were ever released, he would be sure to retrieve what was 'rightfully his', that is, the throne to Earth," Mamoru explained. "My uncle had his own guards as well, whom were sealed away with him. Azurite and Tourmaline where one of the four elites. You mentioned that the person who'd abducted Ami-san and Takeo-san wore all black?"

Minako nodded.

"If I were to guess, I would say that it was another one of the four guards, Onyx, since he had always been knowledgeable in different types of poisons," Mamoru answered. He paused before saying, "Since three of them had already made their appearances, I certain that the fourth and last guard, Carnelian would show up sooner or later."

"I'm assuming that each of them have different powers then? Similar to how each of us have different powers?" Rei deduced.

Mamoru nodded. "Azurite has been rumored to possess the power to control ghosts. This hasn't been confirmed. Instead, it was his ability to create feelings of sickness that had been renowned throughout the kingdom—"

"Feelings of sickness? And he thought it was an useless power?" Makoto asked with a snort.

"It was only temporary, and once you overcome his hold over you, you will no longer feel the effects, as opposed to the other three," Mamoru explained. "Tourmaline can create illusions as well as control fire and electric. Of course, she cannot create fire and electric like Mars and Jupiter can, but once she has a source, she can use it to her leisure. Carnelian, however, is the one you have to be wary of. Nobody knows, exactly, how strong she actually is. I, myself, and the Shitennou had witnessed her fight a dragon at one time—"

"A what?" Makoto looked at him in surprise.

Mamoru raised his eyebrows at her. "You're surprised about a dragon? After wielding powers that no other humans could wield? And after meeting Helios?"

Makoto blushed. "Well, it's not everyday that legendary beings turn out to be true."

A smile appeared on Mamoru's face.

"Let me guess, Carnelian defeated the dragon," Minako said.

Mamoru nodded and a grim expression appeared on his face. "She used the hide for her armor afterwards. If she makes an appearance … well … if you're interested in dragonhide …"

Minako glanced at him warily.

Makoto snorted. "We're not Am—"

She stopped short in her sentence, but everyone knew. Uncomfortable silence settled over the room again and each person seemed to have lost their enthusiasm to speak once again. The absence of Ami seemed more pronounced more than ever as each of them contemplated on how to save her.

"We won't let them win," Usagi suddenly spoke up. Though her voice was soft, it beared a strength, a certain kind of determination.

Everyone looked at her.

She straightened up her back and gazed back at each and every person in the room. "We will save Ami. We will save Takeo. And we will save Mikio, and whomever else got tainted by them. We will find King Sisyphus and we, each and every one of us, will let him know that we are the protectors of this planet. If he wants to take over this planet—" She clenched up a fist and held it up to her heart. "If he wants to take over this planet, he will have to go through us first."

"He's not the first person to target Earth, and he probably won't be the last. But we've gone through so many of them already, didn't we?" Makoto asked with a faint smile.

Minako said, "And we'll go through even more. We're still alive and kicking, aren't we?"

Usagi beamed at her.

Minako addressed Rei. "So I assume you don't have your full divinations powers back yet. Is that correct?"

Rei nodded. "I can try to locate them, but I'm not certain how well it would work."

"Then we will go to our second option."

Though it was Usagi who had spoken, for a moment, Rei felt as if she had transformed. The confidence and authority with which she spoke was something that was foreign, yet the passion behind it was something that was familiar. It created a bittersweet sense of nostalgia, and Rei felt both the subtle sadness of leaving their carefree days behind and the proudness of watching her best friend, her sister mature into something so much more.

At this moment, Rei realized that Usagi, their Princess, was truly evolving into the queen whom would rule over Earth in the near future.

"Just in case Luna and Artemis don't find her, let's contact Michiru-san and ask her if she would let us borrow her mirror," Usagi said.

Minako, followed by Rei and Makoto, inclined their head in affirmation.

* * *

Trying to locate the family of Outer Senshi was never predictable. Sometimes, it was as easy as a simple phone call, but there were also moments when no matter what they did, they could not find a trace of their whereabouts.

Therefore, even though Makoto wished to present when they called Michiru, Usagi and the others reassured her that they would contact her as soon as they got news about where Ami and Takeo were. It was, after all, the first day she was working at Fruits Parlor Crown. Even if they were good friends with Motoki, not showing up was not exactly the best first impression in the world, especially when she had already taken half of the day off to go to the exhibition.

A few days prior, Motoki had, with permission from his parents, approached Makoto and offered her a job as a training chef. Makoto had suspected that it had hugely to do with the fact that Usagi had told Motoki and Unazuki about how she aspired to open a bakery one day. Though the proposal was alluring, she hadn't wanted to impose upon the kind siblings. However, after little persuasion (and after many reassurances that her presence there wouldn't be a burden at all), she had taken on the job.

So with a heavy heart, she walked into Fruits Parlor Crown.

"Mako-chan!" Unazuki exclaimed before she placed down the sherbet in her hand on a table and rushed over to give her a hug. "I heard what happened. I didn't expect you to be in today."

"It's my first day of work …" Makoto said as she prised herself out of Unazuki's embrace.

"I know but still, if you needed a day off, all you needed to do was tell me," Unazuki said.

"Who told you?" Makoto asked with a slight frown.

"It's all over the news, Mako-chan," Unazuki said grimly. "Are the others alright?"

Makoto avoided her gaze and gave a short nod. "Yeah ... Well, I'm here, so might as well get to work."

If Unazuki noticed anything wrong, she didn't say anything, and Makoto was more than grateful about that. The hours passed by in a blur, and the main chef at the café was more than kind to her. Thankfully, the day was busy, so Makoto didn't have the time to think about the situation they were in and what happened (and what would happen) to Ami.

It happened when she walked towards the ladies' restroom. The unsettling feeling of someone watching you washed over her the moment she took two steps away from the kitchen door. She whipped her head around and locked in on the person. It wasn't hard, since it was nearing closing time, and he was the only customer left inside the store. Her eyes narrowed as she took in the imposing figure, seated at the far corner of the store next to the window by himself. The coffee in front of him remained neglected as he turned his gaze towards the window instead. However, she had the distinct feeling that he was still watching her.

"Quite a catch, isn't he?" Unazuki whispered to her in a conspiratorial voice.

Makoto smothered a laugh from bubbling out of her lips.

"I know, I know. I have a boyfriend already, but you have to admit that he _**is**_ eye-catchingly handsome," Unazuki said with a wink before disappearing through the doors to the kitchen.

And he was. He definitely was a handsome man, and Makoto had seen her fair share of handsome men, especially recently. Right on top of her mind was Mamoru and Takeo, and also that friend of Takeo's, Mikio. She would've also counted Junryo if he wasn't such a smartass.

This man had a completely different feeling surrounding him, however. He didn't have the air of gentlemanly sophistication like Mamoru or the solemn, brooding look of Mikio. He wasn't androgynously beautiful like Takeo or similar to Junryo, who was like sunshine washing over a person during a lazy summer afternoon. No, this man was … wild.

There was no other word that Makoto could possibly attach to him. Everything from his hair to his features to his body shape screamed of masculinity, reminding her of tribal warriors that could rip apart wild predators with their bare hands, even though he was wearing a casual suit. He was just sitting there, but Makoto knew that he must tower over her, and that was no easy feat. She didn't even know him, but she had the distinct feeling that he was the kind of men who would get what he wanted regardless of what he needed to do.

Because of this, she felt wary towards him. She wondered what he was doing in Fruits Parlor Crown. Was he an accomplice of Azurite? Was he one of King Sisyphus's cronies? Was he a Shitennou? Or even worse, was he a Shitennou under the control of darker powers?

She did not know. It was times like this that she wished she had Ami's technological prowess or Rei's power to detect negative energy.

At that moment, he looked towards again and when he found her staring at him, a frown appeared on his face, as if he were annoyed at getting caught. Somehow, that almost made her laugh out loud. It dissolved that image of a fierce gladiator and reminded her too much of a child getting caught with their hands inside a cookie jar. For this reason and almost impulsively, she approached his table, much to his surprise.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

He ogled at her as if she'd grown two heads, but this, this was familiar territory. She'd been much too used to others looking at her strangely. Though it was something she had previously felt insecure about, it was something she could easily shrug off nowadays. It was one of the many beautiful accidents that occurred with becoming Usagi's friend.

"I'd also appreciate it if you don't do the usual 'What are you talking about?' because I know what I saw," she said.

As she spoke, he seemed to recompose himself and a corner of his lips quirked upwards.

"Perhaps I'm just admiring a beautiful young lady," he said smoothly.

Unbidden, heat traveled up to her cheeks and painted them a rosy color, but she quickly shook it away. "Don't give me that bullshit."

He was, again, thrown off by her answer. Before he had a chance to speak, she continued.

"I saw the way you were looking at me, and trust me when I say I know that that's not it," she said.

His mouth dropped slightly open and he looked so at a loss for an answer at that moment and under other circumstances, she might had found it funny. However, now, she was cautious instead. Her mind repeated the questions she had thought to herself earlier. It never even touched upon the usual societal darknesses because he was in for a nasty surprise if he was a human trafficker.

A light gasp alerted her attention, and she turned around, only to find her friends standing there. Usagi had her hand over her mouth and she was staring at the man in surprise. The look on Mamoru's face … at that moment, after going through so many things within the last couple of hours, she knew what it meant. When Makoto gazed at Minako, the latter's eyes flickered over to Mamoru before giving her a short nod. Rei had the strangest expression, but Makoto wasn't in the mood to dissect it just yet, neither did she have the time to ask why Usagi seemed to recognize this man immediately.

Makoto looked back at the man sitting at the table who seemed permanently frozen now as he gaped at the small crowd at the door. His body was tense, and one of his hands gripped on to the side of the table as if he wanted to push himself upwards and run at any given moment—judging from the recent event with Junryo, it probably wasn't all that hypothetical.

A string of muttered curses left the man's lips, and suddenly, Makoto couldn't help it anymore. She snorted. The man's eyes were immediately on her but she gave him an unapologetic shrug before her mind registered that there was something wrong with the picture, but she couldn't pinpoint it.

The man placed his attention back on Mamoru and the others, and for a moment, it seemed like nobody would move. Then, Makoto realized what was wrong.

There was fear on the man's face alright and there was guilt, but there was a glaring absence of confusion that had been present on both Takeo and Junryo's faces when they had seen Mamoru.

_He knows._

However, she had no idea how he knew. Confused and surprised, Makoto couldn't do anything except wait for _**something**_ to happen.

Mamoru seemed to have recovered from his initial shock, but he stood there as if he didn't know what to do. Makoto couldn't blame him. After seeing one of his Shitennou run off, he probably didn't have the courage to step towards this man now. Still, she felt that he should've known that the chance of this one running away was close to none since the only exit was literally right behind Mamoru.

Under everybody's surprised gaze, Rei stepped towards the man. She stopped right next to Makoto and stared down at the man. She only contemplated for a few seconds before speaking.

"Why are you here?"

The question thoroughly shocked Makoto, and she didn't need to look at the others to know their expressions.

How did Rei know him?

The man scowled. "I wouldn't have been here if I knew all of them would be."

Much to Makoto's astonishment, Rei slammed her palm down on the table, cold fury written all over her features.

"Don't give me that today, Maeda Narushi. I'm not in the mood to listen to your pointless rambles. One of my best friends was abducted—"

"That's precisely why I'm here today," the man—Maeda Narushi—cut in.

Rei stopped in her words.

Narushi closed his eyes before opening them again. "It's pointless to go and save them, Hino-san. History will repeat itself."

Unbidden, his words caused a shiver to run down Makoto's spine though she had no idea why.

"What do you mean?" Rei asked in a clipped tone of voice, narrowing her eyes.

"I mean," Narushi said. Momentarily his eyes flickered over to Makoto before he quickly placed his attention back on Rei. "I mean, there is nothing you can do, Hino-san. Zoisite will be turned to their side and he's going to be the one to kill Mercury again."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are food for the muse. :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! You have no idea how big of a smile I had while I was reading them. :)

**Chapter 9**

Everyone stood there in shock, staring at Narushi. Slowly, Usagi shook her head. She'd known Takeo. He had been like an older brother to her and she refused to believe that he would betray them and embrace darkness.

"Bullshit." Makoto was the first one to talk, breaking silence. "Look here, I don't know who you think you are, but do you expect us to believe you? Just like that? As far as I'm concerned, you could be part of them—"

Narushi stood up, towering over Makoto. "I am _**not**_ part of them. I'd never been and I will ne—"

He stopped in his words as if his throat got stuck. However, there was a mixture of anger, confusion, and fear on his face.

"You saw it in the stars," Rei breathed out. "You saw Takeo's future written in the stars."

Narushi didn't answer. Instead, he stood there breathing heavily.

"What else did you see?" Minako demanded.

Makoto snorted. "Perhaps he saw himself turn to darkness."

Narushi rounded towards her so quickly that Usagi almost thought that he would strike her. However, he merely glared at her as if he wanted to throttle her. Makoto, on the other hand, returned his stare with equal intensity.

"That was the reason, wasn't it?" Rei asked, her voice quiet.

Narushi didn't answer her, but his eyes flickered for just a split second.

"It wasn't just because you wanted to protect your family, though I suppose that played a major part in your decision. The reason why you didn't want to return to your prince's side was because you were afraid that you would be converted and be forced to betray him again," Rei said.

"That's the stupidest reason I'd ever heard," Makoto said, and she ignored the scowl that appeared on Narushi's face. "I can understand people not returning to their prince's side when they have no idea what happened, but when you do know? As a guard, it is one's duty to protect their liege. If anything, a betrayal should make you even more determined to protect your prince. At least, if you were swayed by dark powers, your soul will remember: You'd tried your best to protect the ones you love."

Narushi ogled at her, his eyes widening with her words.

"The future is not set in stone," Usagi spoke up.

He turned his attention towards her. It was almost as if it was the first time he'd seen her. Then again, she supposed it was. As Masato Sanjoin, he had seen her multiple times, but as Narushi Maeda, this was the first time they met one another.

"The future is not set in stone," Usagi repeated herself. "Just because certain things happened in our past lives, it doesn't mean that it would happen again. If that were true, Mamo-chan and I would not be standing here today. You would not be standing here today. Instead, Queen Beryl would've prevailed, victorious and ruling over Earth as the queen."

She took a tentative step towards him, afraid that she might startle him. However, she could tell that he was concentrating on what she was telling him, not on her movements.

"There's someone I know, someone that we know, who knows the future, but she was also the person who told us that the future lies in our hands," Usagi continued with a fond smile as the image of Setsuna appeared in her mind's eye. "Time is not a straight line. The future is in a flux and would only settle into a path after we make our decision and follow through with it. It is not easy to make the right decision, but I believe—" She took another step towards him. "—I believe that if we have faith in ourselves and have faith in the ones we love, the future will always be bright for us."

If possible, Narushi's eyes turned even more tumultuous before he shook his head. "You don't understand, Princess. The stars had always been accurate—"

"Had you ever thought about going against it?" Usagi asked.

"Yes!" Pain was written all over Narushi's face. "And I—"

He closed his eyes and rubbed his face with one hand. When he looked up again, his face was guarded again, and he seemed to have pushed his emotions into a certain corner of his heart.

"I'm not here to … The only reason I am here is just to warn you. I have no interest in joining this war," he said.

Makoto let out a frustrated growl and looked as if she wanted to hit him over the head with a pan. He, however, ignored her. Without sparing a look towards Mamoru, Narushi walked towards the front door. As he passed Usagi's side, he stopped.

After a moment of hesitation, he murmured, "Thank you, Princess, and … I'm sorry."

Usagi turned around just in time to see the door shut, and with sorrow, she gazed towards Mamoru.

"He'll come around," she said softly.

Mamoru gave her a short nod though she could tell that his emotions were in overdrive and it pained her that she couldn't do anything for him at the moment.

* * *

" _Just how much can I trust you, Mizuno Ami?"_

Ami did not know how to answer the question. A million different answers whizzed through her mind, and each became weaker than the last until she was left with only one.

"I don't know," she whispered.

He looked at her, and Ami couldn't tell what he was thinking. The emotions flickered over his eyes so quickly that she didn't have a chance to analyze them before the next one appeared until it was all taken over by understanding.

"I guess that's enough for me," he said.

She stared at him, surprised. He shrugged under her scrutiny.

"At least you didn't try to convince me you're the good guys," he said with a cheeky smile.

Unexpectedly, that caused a soft laugh to escape from her lips. Covering her mouth, she stopped herself and forced the feelings of embarrassment down.

"It was obvious that those folks—" Takeo nodded his head towards the cave entrance. "—can't be one of the good guys. So I went along with that. I was hoping to get more information from Azurite, make him talk. Lucky for me, he decided to mention 'the Dark Kingdom'. The moment I heard it, I knew it had to be important, and I know Junryo would find something out about it. I also wanted to know what they had done to Mikio. Well, I didn't know they had something to do with it, but I was taking a guess back there, and I'm glad that I was right. Unfortunately, Azurite stopped before he gave us more information. I obviously bluffed about the 'my liege' and everything because he mentioned a King Sisyphus and he mentioned knowing me at one point in time. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this, more likely than not, had something to do with fights between royalties and all those stupid stuff."

He shifted his body to another position, stretching out his legs.

"I don't know Junryo-san. At least not before today," he said. "For some reason, however, I feel an inexplicable ... " He paused, searching for the right word. "... closeness, I guess. It felt as if he was someone who should be a childhood friend, someone who had gone through thick and thin with me." He ran a hand through his hair and laughed humorlessly. "I mean, can you believe it? This is ridiculous."

"I don't find it very ridiculous," Ami said, choosing her words carefully. "The world works in a strange way, and sometimes, we meet someone that we feel unexplainably close to."

Takeo shook his head. "I probably would've ignored it if it was just once, but … I felt that feeling towards Usagi's boyfriend, too, though … it's not completely the same."

He stopped and stared at the wall, as if he were deep in thought.

"How was it different?" Ami asked.

"I felt … as if …" He chuckled. "I must tell you ahead of time, that I don't know him, and I'm good with faces, so I know I don't know him, but I just … get this feeling that I should know him … and I feel horrible."

He turned his head towards her, and if he noticed anything strange about the expression on her face, he didn't comment on it.

"I feel horrible, as if I'd done something wrong to him, as if I betrayed him to a level that is despicable," he told her. "At that moment, when I first saw him at the exhibition, I'd wanted to run. I wanted to get out of there because I felt as if the whole world was condemning me, and I … had nothing to say to defend myself because I know I was wrong, but I don't know _**why**_ , and somehow I know it has something to do with the blank space of memories I have from five years ago. When Junryo approached me in the hospital, I found out that he was going through the same thing I was. He …" He smirked. "I shouldn't be telling you this, since you are friends with Usagi, but if you tell her …" He shrugged. "He proposed that we hack into the computers at Kenji-papa's workplace because there might be some information. Even if it might be bread crumbs, perhaps we can make some sense out of our lives."

Ami mulled over his words as she struggled with herself. One side of her wanted to tell Takeo the truth. However, another side worried if she might be interfering with their cleansing process. What if she did something wrong and prevented Takeo from successfully redeeming himself? Ami wished that Helios had been more specific, but there was no way she could ask him right now until she got out of here.

Well, now Ami knew where and who she was going to visit the minute she got out of here. Hopefully, Takeo hadn't been converted by then.

"Perhaps I'm one of you guys," he said, almost teasingly.

However, his face fell when he saw her expression.

"You don't believe me."

"I didn't say that," Ami denied.

"Oh, you didn't say it," he mocked. "Sorry, Yuki-onna, it's written all over your face. You're just afraid that I'll steal the show from you guys when I'm rocking those miniskirts, aren't you?"

Ami couldn't help it. She giggled. "I'm sure."

_Definitely not going to let him get converted._

And since when did her nickname became "Yuki-onna"? However, she decided that she didn't exactly despise it, so she didn't inquire about it.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "There you go with the disbelief again."

Ami shook her head. "I didn't—You're wrong in your assumptions about my expressions."

She observed his face and tilted her head to one side. His long, strawberry-blond hair was tied at the nape of his neck. Loose curls framed his elvish features and enhanced the brightness of his meadow-green eyes. Though he was determined to look haughty, a hint of a smile still managed to appear at the corner of his lips.

"Your features are very beautiful."

The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Discomfort caused her to look to the side and she felt her cheeks burn. Inside her mind, she could already see Minako giving her a coy smile with her head propped on the back of one hand as she waited for some kind of "love confession", which was absurd but completely in the deck of cards when it came to Minako, and that wasn't the point!

The point was, it was a horrible, horrible idea. Why did she think that that was a good way to compliment him? Why did she think that that was a good _**idea**_ to compliment him? What if he thought she was flirting with him? That made her freeze up in fear.

"Even if that _is_ the truth, thank you," he said, interrupting her little internal monologue.

"You're welcome," she murmured, shoving those ghastly musings back to the dark recesses of her mind.

She fidgeted with her fingers before she pulled out her mini-computer and decided to do something with it instead.

"Do you think you can contact your friends?" he asked, peering over her shoulder.

"I can try," she answered, appreciative of the change of topic.

The feeling of awkwardness trickled away as she concentrated on typing commands into the computer with Takeo watching beside her. After a couple of commands later, the screen flickered before two cats appeared in the display.

"Luna! Artemis!"

"Ami-chan! Do you know where you are?" Luna asked. Apparently, she noticed how Ami had kept her voice low, so she had as well.

"I'm not certain. Do you think you can track where we are via the connection?"

"It might take some time, but I'll try," Luna replied.

"Ami-san …"

Ami glanced at Takeo who pointed at the screen with his eyebrow raised.

"Those are cats."

"... yes."

"Talking cats."

A corner of Ami's lips quivered. "Yes, they are."

"Holy shit," he muttered, running his hand through his hair again.

"He's Osaka Takeo?" Luna asked, a frown marring her feline features.

Ami nodded in confirmation and ignored the alarmed look on Artermis's place. "Please hurry in finding our location, Luna. They are planning to convert Takeo once they're ready."

"You should transform, Ami. Who knows if he's already converted?" Artemis commented.

" _ **He**_ is sitting right here listening into your conversation. Isn't it a bit too late to worry about that?" Takeo sassed.

Artemis hissed and Luna held out a paw, signaling for him to stop.

"The most important thing is getting them out of there first," Luna chided before turning back to Ami. "I'll contact the others and let you know once we get a hold of your location. There seems to be some kind of protection barrier preventing me from finding your exact place. I'm surprised we got a hold of you, to be honest."

"It might be because they had no idea who I am," Ami said wryly. "I'll keep the connection on. Reopen the contact line when you find more information."

After Luna gave her an affirmative nod, the screen flickered before returning to its previous display of statistics and commands.

Ami sighed, feeling a bit less worried now that they'd gotten in contact with the outside world. Gazing back at Takeo, she gave him a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry."

"I'm not," Takeo said with a grin. "We have a plan now, and we'd already talked about our back-up plan."

"That's not a back-up plan," Ami argued, a stony expression in place.

Takeo held up his hand. "Listen, Ami-san. I'm not saying that I want to take that risk, but we have to prepare ourselves for the worst possible scenario. So please, if your friends don't find us before they try to convert me, save me in the only way you can. I know you can." He smiled at her. "You can be a formidable enemy when you want to be."

That sentence tugged at something in her memory, but when she tried to think further about it, she hit a blank wall.

"Well then. I guess there's nothing we can do but wait then," Takeo said, standing up and stretching. He turned his head towards her and grin again. "Perhaps we can look around to see if we can find some way to escape? If we're lucky, we can be out of here before the dramatics happen."

* * *

"Would you like some tea, Mamoru-san?" Michiru asked from the kitchen.

"Yes, thank you," he answered, still not completely recovered from his interaction with Narushi.

"So … your guards run away whenever they see you," Haruka said, a smirk lingering at the corner of her lips. "Now, I'm wondering what you had done to traumatize them so much."

Hotaru giggled and Setsuna had an amused smile on her face as well.

Mamoru forced himself to give them a weak smile.

Haruka rolled her eyes and looked towards the kitchen. Apologies appeared on Hotaru's face rather than make it out of her lips, and that was when Mamoru noticed how ugly the smile on his face must be.

"So you'd met with all four of them," Setsuna spoke up.

Usagi nodded. "Well, we met with all four of them, but Mamo-chan didn't see Mikio-san yet. According to what … to what Ami-chan had discovered, we think there's a high possibility that he might also be a Shitennou."

"It was all in the statistics. We all saw it," Makoto said. "Not to mention he was one of the people who hadn't fainted at the exhibition."

"Are you sure the four of them would be helpful to building Crystal Tokyo? They haven't even been awaken yet and they're already causing more than enough trouble," Haruka commented with her eyebrow raised.

"Haruka," Michiru gently chided before she turned her gaze towards the future monarchs of the planet. "So I presume you are here to borrow my mirror."

"If that's okay with you," Usagi answered.

Almost subconsciously, everyone turned their attention towards Setsuna. A ghost of a smile appeared at the corner of her lips.

"As it is not my possession, I have no rights to dictate to whom Michiru should lend it to," she said.

"We won't be triggering any major changes in the future then, I hope," Minako said.

Instead of answering, Setsuna gave her the trademark mysterious smile.

"Luna and Artemis are searching for them as well, right?' Hotaru asked with her head tilted to one side.

It was very easy to forget what a formidable Senshi she could be when she looked like this. Then again, it was also difficult to remember when she had been that melancholy and lonely young daughter of an intelligent scientist whom had been possessed. If anything, she looked more like an innocent little girl brought up with all the proper manners to hide a heart filled with lighthearted mischief.

Rei nodded. "They'd gotten in contact with Ami and Takeo already, but apparently, there is some kind of barrier preventing technology from accessing their exact location." She frowned. "Luna and Artemis are worried. They wouldn't tell us why, but I know something is wrong. I think it might be because King Sisyphus might try to convert Takeo soon."

Haruka scowled, but thankfully, did not make any comments. Setsuna lowered her eyes, as if she were deep in thought. Michiru's face remained impassive, and Hotaru glanced at Setsuna inquiringly.

Before anyone could say something, Michiru summoned her mirror seemingly out of nowhere and held it out to Usagi and Mamoru. Mamoru's heart jolted and different thoughts flew through his mind, but they all lost any significance in the face of his hope, his one wish that both Ami and Takeo would be safe.

With a grateful smile, Usagi took the mirror by the handle and situated it between her and Mamoru. A small shiver of uncertainty and nervousness ran down Mamoru's spine as he wrapped his fingers around Usagi's and they both looked into the mirror, thinking of their friends.

* * *

It wasn't easy, and he had known that it wouldn't be easy. The old man—he had suggested for Junryo to just call him "Jii-san" if he wasn't comfortable with just "the old man"— _Jii-san_ had told him that much. At first, it hadn't bothered him that much, but soon, discomfort started to crawl up and down his body, urging him to move, to go outside.

A frown appeared on his face and he struggled to keep his concentration where Jii-san had told him. It surprised Junryo, since he had always been patient, too patient, some of his acquaintances might joke. Therefore, it wasn't like him to yearn for the sunlight or to allow his thoughts to wander off to the many activities he could be doing rather than sitting there and meditating.

However, he was Junryo Kobayashi and those who knew him had plenty of stories to share about when he'd shown his stubborn side.

After a while, his mind cleared. He had no idea if it were because of the soft chanting that drifted into the room—Jii-san's voice, he remembered, before he determinedly placed his concentration back on the meditation—or perhaps it was because he had managed to calm his heart down. Nonetheless, he embraced the feeling of tranquility. It was especially soothing after the trying day he'd had.

Nothing prepared him for the nightmares that came.

He should've known that the peace would've been short-lived. He had no idea what to expect, but out of all things in the world, this wasn't what he would've expected. Images would've made more sense.

Instead, screams and sobs rang in his ears and painted horrifying pictures in his imagination. Rather than see the memories, he could _**feel**_ them. For a moment, he wanted to open his eyes just to check to see if there were actual victims surrounding him.

" _You might see or hear things, but you must ignore them."_

The instructions from Jii-san were clear and Junryo knew better than to disobey them. So, he forced his eyes to remain shut, disregarding how psychologically painful it was to him.

Sweat gathered at his brow and trickled down his face as the weeping and yells increased in volume. It was as if Junryo was sitting right in the middle of a war—perhaps he was. His body shook as he forced his concentration back to the task on hand.

He had to do this. He would do this. He _**needed**_ to do this.

And suddenly, the screams stopped. He no longer hear the sounds of Jii-san's chanting and the soft tweeting of birds. He no longer smelled the soothing scent of incense in the air.

Though his eyes were still closed, it felt as if they were opened. He knelt on the floor, his gaze trained on a particular spot on the white marble floor. He glanced at his white-gloved hand and his uniform to make sure that everything appeared perfect.

And then, his vision blurred. As absurd as it seemed, it felt as if two different memories were overlapping one another and the world around him swirled.

" _Jadeite, the Knight of Patience and Harmony."_

" _I am Jadeite, one of the Dark Kingdom Shitennou."_

" _I swear my loyalty to you, Master."_

" _Please leave everything up to me, Queen Beryl."_

_Jadeite, Elysion, the Dark Kingdom, the Golden Kingdom, Queen Beryl, Master …_

Everything was a blur in his mind. At moments, he wanted to scream in agony while he watched Jadeite issue orders of cruelness or plunge his weapon of choice into an innocent's body. At others, he wanted to laugh as Jadeite bantered with four young men approximately his age or ran laps around a majestic palace out of punishment.

The memories of two lifetimes merged into one, contrasting one another and washing him into an ocean of emotions until he opened his eyes wide.

His breathing was labored as he took in his surroundings. It took him another full minute to remember where he was again and that he was no longer in Elysion or the gardens of the Golden Kingdom (or the cold corridors of the Dark Kingdom).

He closed his eyes, only to open them immediately. Nonetheless, the pleas of victims still rang in his ears. He took another deep breath and concentrated on the one thing that grounded him.

Prince Endymion. His prince and Master.

Even if he hadn't heard about the Dark Kingdom from the young man who'd abducted Takeo and Mizuno-san, he would've known immediately. The image of Jadeite bowing to Queen Beryl felt so wrong while the vision of him kneeling to Prince Endymion felt _natural_. It should've surprised Junryo, given that he had run away from Mamoru—there was no doubts in Junryo's mind that Mamoru had to be Prince Endymion—but he knew why now. He knew why his first instinct was to escape.

The guilt was unbearable. The fact that he had betrayed his liege, the person who he'd sworn eternal loyalty to, burned him, and the pain pierced right through his soul, forcing him to run and hide.

The chanting from Jii-san had stopped, though Junryo, of course, had no idea when that happened. He didn't even know how long he'd been here.

He stretched out his legs, allowing the numbness to go away.

This place … Hikawa Shrine … he had sullied it. Embarrassment and guilt flooded him again, causing him to shut his eyes. Though visions of tortured victims appeared in his mind once more, he welcomed it, treating it as a way to repent his past errors.

He knew it wasn't enough, but it was the least he could do at the moment.

After a while, he opened his eyes and wiggled his toes, testing to see if they were still numb, before he stood up. His mind was briefly accosted by odd he placed a hand on the screen door. On one hand, he felt as if he'd just aged a hundred years within the last couple of minutes (or was it hours?). Then again, he did just go through two different lifetimes. Or one and a half.

_Dear Gaea, I'm turning into Zoisite with all the technicalities of words._

The thought of the youngest member of the Shitennou brought a smile to his face before it was promptly erased.

He had to find a way to save him. Even though he was powerless right now, he had to do something. But what?

Still deep in thought, he pushed the sliding door open and was surprised to find Jii-san sitting there at the edge of the walkway, facing outwards. The sound must've alerted the old man, since he immediately glanced backwards.

"Tired?" Jii-san inquired.

"Very," Junryo replied with a smile.

"Then perhaps you want to rest for the night before attempting it again?"

Junryo shook his head. Surprise appeared on Jii-san's face.

"You don't seem like the kind of person who would give up so easily."

That was when Junryo realized that Jii-san had interpreted his answer wrongly.

"I'm not," Junryo agreed. "But that is why I don't need to attempt it again."

Jii-san gazed at him in question. The kindness there prodded him into action, and in one swift move, Junryo knelt down in front of him.

"Junryo-chan …?"

"I'm sorry. I know … you probably don't know what I'm talking about, but I would like to ask for your forgiveness."

As Junryo could not see Jii-san's expression, he had no clues about what was going through his mind. A hand landed on Junryo's shoulder.

"I wouldn't had allowed you in here again if I hadn't already forgiven you."

Junryo's head snapped up in surprise. That was when he realized that Jii-san _did_ remember him, the Jadeite that had been brainwashed by the Dark Kingdom. Jii-san had just chosen to withhold that information for reasons that were unknown to Junryo.

A smile graced Jii-san's face.

"You're right. I don't know all the details, but I do know enough," Jii-san said. "Some things are kept as secrets for a reason and I never felt the urge to pry when the energy could be better spent on making someone happy." He examined Junryo's face. "I take it that you'd found your lost memories?"

Still not trusting himself to speak, Junryo nodded. Though he knew he didn't have his full set of memories yet, he remembered enough to know _who_ he was.

"Perhaps it was because of your previous connection to the shrine," Jii-san mused. "I knew meditation might help you regain your lost memories, but I'd never expected it to happen so rapidly. Usually, it would take much longer for something like this to happen."

Junryo wondered briefly it was because he was one of this Shitennou. Would the other Shitennou recover their memories through meditation? Or did they have to go about it another way? Junryo had no idea how they would recover their memories, but there was a gut feeling that meditation would not help them. He just wished that someone could answer his questions. If only there was someone who knew more …

His eyes widened. Jii-san noticed the expression and grinned.

"Have you thought of what to do next?" he asked.

Despite the current circumstances (who knew when Sisyphus would try to convert Takeo?), Junryo couldn't help but smile.

"Yes."

"Then go, young man. I know you will succeed and when you do," Jii-san said, "I expect you to come back and make up for all the hours you'd promised me all those years ago."

With gratefulness, Junryo gave Jii-san his promise.

His heart was much lighter as he made his way down the stairs of Hikawa Shrine. After all, the path was much clearer now. He knew where he should go for his next stop and whom he should seek for.

Elysion. Helios.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love. :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome. :D

" _Kunzite."_

_He stopped in his steps and looked towards the source, behind him. His second-in-command …_

" _Kunzite."_

_A different voice, this time to his right. His patient friend …_

" _Kunzite."_

_This one was younger, to his left. A younger brother …_

" _Kunzite."_

_This time, he stiffened. A feeling of dread and guilt welled up in his heart. Slowly, he turned around until he was facing him, even though a horrible feeling submerged him. For a moment, no one spoke as he stared into deep, blue eyes that held so much compassion. Deep, blue eyes that were so familiar to him. Deep, blue eyes that gave him forgiveness even before he had begun to ask for it._

" _Master," he whispered._

" _Kunzite," the man said with a gentle smile._

_He fell down to the floor, screaming._

* * *

After the people at the exhibition had been sent to the hospital, Mikio had been, unfortunately, bombarded with calls. It had taken him many promises to reassure his boss that the media would not be placing the blame on their company. In the end, it was the fact that nobody was even suspecting Takeo that appeased his boss's irritation. That and the fact that most people had now categorized this as foul play.

Then, he had made a short visit to the hospital, but Takeo was nowhere in sight. He wondered if Azurite had been successful in his mission. As it were, he didn't even see the young friends of Takeo. He had thought that they would stay around, seeing that one of the victims was the father of one of the girls.

As he stepped out of the hospital, his phone rang yet once more.

"Yukimura speaking," he answered, continuing to walk towards his car.

"Mikio, I just heard what happened," Rashid fired off immediately. "How is everyone?"

Mikio's eyes slid over towards the general direction of where the hospital was standing and a small smirk appeared on his face and disappeared just as quickly.

"Many of the people who had attended the exhibition are currently hospitalized," he replied.

"What about the others? Takeo? Adachi?"

"Adachi has yet to wake up. Takeo … is fine."

"Do you know what happened? How did everyone just keel over like that?" Rashid asked.

"I heard there was a stranger causing trouble and harming the people at the exhibition. Everyone got frightened and had to be escorted out of the building. Since I was busy assisting the security guards, I don't know what happened," he said.

Rashid did not immediately answer, probably thinking. In the end, he heaved a sigh. "Call me if there are any other news, okay? I'm worried out of my mind here."

"Okay," Mikio said, unlocking the door to his car and disconnecting the call.

He hadn't been really lying. No, he hadn't. Takeo wasn't in any danger and he would be fine. He was just confused at the moment. Once he had been filled with the right information, he would know which side to choose.

Stopping at the red light, he noticed a flash of gold hair. His eyes immediately zoomed in on the source and found the owner to the sun-kissed hair. It was that young woman back at the exhibition.

Aino-san. Minako Aino.

She was walking along with her friends. Mikio briefly wondered when they had left the hospital, since he hadn't seen them when he'd gotten to the hospital. Perhaps they had left before he'd arrived and had dawdled in the area. Though the rest of the group also had unsettled looks on their face, it was that worried expression on her face that caught his attention. Maybe it was because he had never imagined her being unhappy. If anything, she seemed like the type who could have anything she wanted, presented to her on a silver platter.

He wasn't blind. He'd noticed how attractive she was, despite how naïve she was. Of course, none of her friends were ugly either, but there was something in her that called to people and made others turn their heads, just to catch another glimpse of her, just to see her smile. If she had wanted to, he could imagine legions of men throwing themselves in the line of fire for her.

He narrowed his eyes when something like a memory stirred in the back of his mind. However, it eluded his grasp.

The headache that had accompanied him ever since he'd woken up this morning wasn't helping, neither was the dream that he couldn't seem to recall. All he remembered was that it was supposed to be important, but that, in and of itself, was ridiculous. When were dreams ever important?

The light turned green just as Minako and her friends turned around the corner, and he sped off towards his apartment.

He still had things to do … places to visit.

* * *

Takeo had no idea how and when he'd fallen asleep, but it was the sound of stones shifting against one another that woke him up. His eyes snapped open, and he kept them on the entrance. A man dressed in gray military clothing entered the cave, his cape swishing behind him.

Takeo narrowed his eyes. For some reason, that attire seemed familiar, as if he had previously seen it before. Before he could think further into the subject, the uniform on the man melted away into common civilian clothing.

"Mikio," he blurted out the name before he could stop himself.

If he hadn't already witnessed other people transforming right in front of him, he would've been much more surprised. As it was, he was more taken aback by the fact that it was Mikio. Though he had guessed that Azurite and the rest of those goons had done something to Mikio, it was altogether another level of wrong when the brainwashed Mikio was standing right in front of him.

He knew precisely why Mikio was here and more than anything, it made Takeo angry that they dared to do something like this, to try to lure him over to the dark side by using someone he had been close to.

"Takeo."

Mikio's eyes flickered over to Takeo's hand which was intertwined with Ami's. Though both Takeo and Ami had known that it would be pointless if Sisyphus's people were to come and take one of them away, they wanted to immediately know, rather than wake up and find the other person missing.

Even if he knew she didn't need it, a gut feeling made Takeo protective over the petite girl next to him.

"The answer is no," Takeo said sharply, catching Mikio's attention.

It must've taken MIkio by surprise, since he didn't immediately answer.

"You don't know the circumstances," Mikio said.

"I don't need to," Takeo said. "Frankly speaking, I find it surprising that you'd allowed them to string you along like a little puppet. I know they'd somehow converted you, but I had thought that you would've been stronger than this." He paused before narrowing his eyes at Mikio again. "And I think now is the perfect time to tell you 'I told you so'. Going into that cave _is_ the stupidest decision you'd ever made in your life." He cocked his head to one side. "Considering how stubborn you are and knowing you since who knows when, that's saying something."

"If I hadn't gone in there, I wouldn't had known the truth," Mikio said.

"Are you stupid? Or have you been hit over the head one times too many?" Takeo screeched. "They'd hurt— _ **killed**_ people, _**innocent**_ people. How can you possibly think that they are the good guys? They're obviously manipulating you somehow, but for goodness' sake, how hard is it to see that there's something very wrong with this?"

Either he had been too loud or it was because he was exerting so much force on Ami that he'd woken her up because he suddenly felt her tighten her grip around his hand. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye and found her observing Mikio with caution. Her mini-computer was, thankfully, nowhere in sight. Later on, he would remember that he was being silly; with Ami's intelligence, of course she wouldn't let others know of their biggest advantage.

"It was a necessary sacrifice. After being trapped in the cave for so long, King Sisyphus needed energy—"

"Do you hear yourself speak?" Takeo asked coldly. "'Necessary sacrifices'." He let out a humorless laugh. "No superhero would find it 'necessary' to harm innocent people just to save their own butts."

He felt rather than saw Ami glance at him, and he couldn't help that tiny smile from appearing on his face.

"Is this how this works then? You're going to sacrifice my energy just to revive your King, who might not even be your king?" Takeo sassed.

"You know that you aren't here as a sacrifice," Mikio said.

Takeo harrumphed and looked off to the side. "As long as I submit."

Mikio shook his head. "Your powers are … useful to our cause."

"In what ways?" Takeo demanded, snapping his head towards Mikio sharply. "Did you think that I'll allow myself to bring chaos on Earth? If that's what you're thinking, you obviously didn't know me well enough."

"We are not bringing chaos down to Earth. It's the Lunarians and Prince Endymion. The witches from the sky are not trustworthy, Takeo," Mikio said. "As a Terran, you should know that."

Lunarians? He could've sworn that Kenji-papa and Ikuko-mama were both Earthlings, but with the things that were happening around him these days, he couldn't really be certain anymore. He would have to have another chat session with Ami it seemed. Even if she couldn't tell him much about himself, he hoped that she wouldn't mind telling him if they were aliens or regular human beings—well, as normal as superpowered human beings could be.

Right now, he placed his concentration back onto Mikio and laughed mockingly. "'As a Terran'? Have you been watching the news lately, Mikio? Or have you ever turned on the news for the past, oh, give or take, five years? I mean, I know you live under a rock sometimes and the outside world had tried to keep everything that had happened in Japan regarding magical girls and stuff hush-hush, but it's not like you don't have access to the Internet. Don't tell me you haven't ever succumbed to the temptation of watching the Sailor Senshi in action. _They_ were the ones who were protecting Earth, while we were still without our memories. _They_ were the ones to fight against intruders while Sisyphus was rotting in that cave. So don't give me that bullshit that quote witches from the sky unquote are untrustworthy."

Mikio stared at him. Just when Takeo thought he had gotten through to him, he spoke.

"They'd deceived you, brainwashed you perhaps, just like they had done to Prince Endymion."

Takeo squawked. "For the second time, do you hear yourself talk!? You're the one who's been brainwashed if you think you're fighting for the correct side."

"You don't have all your memories back, Takeo—"

Takeo did a little dance of victory inside his head. If Mikio believed that Takeo had some of his memories back, the others were surely easier to trick.

"—because they had done something to our memories. They'd wiped out our memories before we served Prince Endymion because they didn't want us to remember that we were supposed to be loyal to Sisyphus."

Takeo raised his eyebrow at Mikio. "Well then, the answer is still no."

"Takeo—"

"No, it doesn't matter, Mikio," Takeo said, hold his free hand up to stop his friend from talking. "If they want me to change sides, they're going to have to do it the hard way because I'm not going to go down without a fight. I'll be kicking and screaming until the end. I know what is right inside here." He pointed at his heart. "I'd always believed in my intuition and right now, it's telling me that Sisyphus and the others are full of shit. As for you, you're brainwashed or whatever they had done to you, so you're momentarily excused from getting a full blast ranting from me."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Ami give him a quick look. He ignored it, however, and leaned forwards, a look of challenge in his eyes.

"For the third time, the answer is no," Takeo said quietly. "I may not possess the muscles, but you know very well what I can do if I set my mind to it. I suggest that you leave us alone."

* * *

The travel to Mount Fuji wasn't particularly hard, especially when he decided to drop by his apartment to get his motorcycle. The climb upwards didn't present much of a challenge either, which might be strange, considering that it was much more dangerous during this time of the year to hike up the mountain. However, now, Junryo knew that he didn't have anything to be afraid of. This was his element and, in a sense, his territory.

The most unpredictable factor, however, was if his method would work.

It was almost midnight, by the time he'd reached the top of the mountain. Strangely, he hadn't been stopped by anyone. Surprisingly, he didn't even see a tourist or another hiker along the way. He had thought that he would have to think of some plausible reason or pull a Zoisite by getting through them stealthily.

He wondered if it was because Helios knew he was coming to find him.

If he had, it would've been a lot easier for him to come look for Junryo rather than the other way around. Unless there was a reason for it. As there always had been.

Could the priest do something like this? Warding off humans so that the area would be clear for what Junryo had do next? That was something Junryo, and for that matter, Jadeite, had never known. Did anyone know the true extent of the priest's powers?

Junryo sighed, wishing that Zoisite was here so that they could come up with strange theories about how the mind of the strange priest worked, but of course …

Remembering the danger Takeo might be in gave Junryo another burst of energy and he concentrated on looking at his surroundings.

A thin layer of snow covered the grounds at the top of the volcano and there was no one else in sight. Strong winds bustled through the air at random intervals, but none of them were enough to faze him. In retrospect, even before he found his long-lost memories, he had never been particularly afraid of the cold. Perhaps it was residual powers given to him by his soul.

Hopefully, there was more to the residual powers then because he needed all the help he could get if he were ever to find Elysion ( _and his Prince_ ) once more.

Closing his eyes, he tried to reach out to his avatar.

At first, nothing happened and Junryo could feel anxiety building up in his heart.

What if he couldn't go back to Elysion? How else could he gain back his powers? What would happen to Zoisite and the others? What if this was all in his imagination? What if he and Takeo were just patients at a mental hospital? What if it wasn't his imagination and he had just simply lost his rights to his powers? What if this was punishment for his betrayal to his Prince?

" _Concentrate."_

That simple word from Jii-san resounded in his mind, reminding him of what he had just gone through. No. He had just spent a couple of hours reliving his past lives. Even if he had no actual proof, he knew, deep inside, that what he had seen was the truth. He had to persevere. He had to do this.

He forcefully shoved the negative thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on connecting his mind to the powers of the Earth.

His powers had come from Earth. He came to _**being**_ because of Earth. The fact that he had reincarnated shouldn't change that fact, even if he was virtually powerless now. His soul was connected to this planet, even if he presently could not channel the energy that should be his.

And it would be his once again, regardless of how hard he would have to fight for it.

He reached out with his mind, searching for that loose piece of energy lingering in the air. It had been many years, centuries and millenniums, but he knew it must be there. It had to be there. He didn't know what else to do if it wasn't.

An elation like no other filled his heart the moment he found it and managed to grasp onto it.

As if on cue, a low groan filled the air.

Others might perceive it as a strange anomaly that just happened in nature and would require no other investigation, but Junryo knew what it was. The ground he was standing on started to wobble. The intensity wasn't enough to throw anyone off their feet but it was enough to alert Junryo to open his eyes.

The center of Mount Fuji hollowed downwards, reminding Junryo of cubes of salt exposed to fresh water. As the ground gave way to a hole of nearly ten feet in diameter, a bright blue light shone from within. Seconds later, a streak of azure light, nearly the size of the hole and longer than it by at least ten times, shot into the air. It made a full circle around the skies before landing back in front of Junryo.

For a brief moment, Junryo wondered if any civilians had seen that, both the dragon circling the air and the bright lights being emitted. He wondered if anyone could look at Mount Fuji right now and see a streak of blue at the tip of the mountain, but then he decided that he didn't really have it within him to care at the moment. He was too elated by the fact that his method had worked.

He was one step closer to Elysion.

The dragon stared at him from one eye and its expression was serene. Upon a closer look, Junryo realized that only the scales were a deeper shade of blue. Both the mane and the claws were of a lighter shade. The eyes, however, were what struck something within him. He had seen those eyes before.

They were the same exact shade and shape as his own eyes.

Everything felt almost surreal to him, but he brushed those thoughts away and stepped closer to the dragon.

Touching its massive mane of hair, Junryo said, "Hello. Haven't seen you in a while."

The dragon let out a low sound that sounded like affirmation to Junryo's words. Slowly, the light that it had been emitting decreased to a dull pulsing. The dragon seemed to have no intention of moving, its tail swishing around carelessly and lifting small clouds of debris into the air.

With a smile, Junryo stroked it a few more times before looking towards the hole. It was no longer shining. Tentatively, Junryo walked around the head of his avatar and towards the indentation. The dragon circled around him until it found a comfortable position where it could look into the hole with Junryo.

Back in those days, any volcano would've easily worked for him if he wanted to reach Elysion, given the nature of his powers. Today, however …

After observing it for a few seconds, Junryo looked at the dragon again. "I don't have any powers anymore. I don't know why. It's either because … I'd … done something extremely regrettable or because I'd reincarnated. Or maybe it's because I just don't know how to tap into my energy source any longer. Whatever the reason is, I'm closer to being a normal human that I'd ever been, and if I jump in there right now … the lava will kill me before I reach Elysion."

The dragon made another low sound before it moved again. This time as it circled, it became smaller in size. It then wrapped itself around Junryo's body, a clear indication of what it wanted to do.

It surprised Junryo more than it should. He hadn't called upon his avatar a lot during the days of the Golden Kingdom, but the connection had always been there. It was a bond that could never be erased. Even though the link couldn't be accessed while he was an unfortunate minion of the Dark Kingdom, he remembered that he could still feel it _**there**_ while he had been brainwashed. Junryo believed that this was also the case with the other Shitennou and their own avatars.

"Thank you, old friend," Junryo whispered.

The dragon didn't answer; instead, it laid its head on his shoulder, as if to comfort him.

Looking back into the hole, Junryo took a deep breath and jumped in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews feed the muse :D.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update! I could bore you with details about my personal life but I'm sure you're more interested in reading the next chapter. :) Thank you for the lovely reviews and for the kudos!

**Chapter 11**

Takeo let out a sigh of relief when Mikio finally exited the chamber. He turned towards Ami.

"Sorry for waking you up," he said with an apologetic smile.

"I would've been much more upset if I hadn't woken up," she said matter-of-factly.

Takeo didn't know how to answer her, so instead, he quietly watched as she brushed the dust off her pants and straightened her shirt. He found that he wasn't too surprised when she didn't even seem to notice the quietness. It almost seemed as if … she were used to being strange.

That thought flashed through his mind so out of the blue that it surprised him. It was almost as if he'd known her somehow. He tilted his head to one side, still keeping his eyes on her as she took out her mini-computer and ran a few tests on it.

He knew she knew things about him, of course, but he wondered how well they had known one another. Or … had they known one another during the period of time that he had no memories of?

Her voice brought him out of his reverie and he brushed the thoughts to the back of his mind.

"It's the same as before," she said in a quiet voice. "Yukimura-san doesn't seem to be anywhere near now, but there is still someone outside, so we'll have to continue keeping our voices low."

Takeo nodded in acknowledgement. After a short pause, he slowly opened his mouth.

"You won't answer questions about me," he said, "but can you tell me about you guys? I mean, I don't need to know the details, if you're worried about, you know, if I'm already turned or not."

"I know you're not turned," she said quietly, looking at him with those alert blue eyes.

He shrugged and gave her a smile. "Just throwing it out there."

She mulled about it for a while before giving him a short nod. "I suppose there isn't any harm in telling you basic things about us." She tilted her head to one side. "What do you want to know about us?"

"Mikio said 'witches from the sky'?" he immediately asked.

"Oh." She seemed a bit surprised that that would be the first question he would ask. "It's a bit complicated."

"I'm not going anywhere," Takeo said with a wink.

A soft blush colored her cheeks and she looked to the side. "We are human beings right now, if that's what you wanted to know. To make a long story short, a few thousand of years ago, before we reincarnated to this body—"

"Reincarnated?" Takeo asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It's a bit difficult to explain," Ami said with a small frown on her forehead. "But yes, we reincarnated to this world after what happened in the past."

Takeo still had his eyebrow raised, but he nodded his head, signifying for her to continue.

"We didn't live on Earth back then," Ami admitted. "My sister and I, we were each from a different planet."

"Ah … hence the different planet names," he mused.

Ami nodded. "The Senshi from the inner planets—that is, Venus, Mercury, Mars, and Jupiter—were chosen to protect the Moon Princess, the princess of the moon and the Silver Millennium, while the Senshi from the outer planets—Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto—protected the Silver Millennium from alien attacks."

"Seems like you guys have a very different definition of what 'alien' is," he joked.

Her eyes landed on him again, and he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. However, she must've found what she was looking for because she relaxed and returned his smile.

"What about Saturn? Judging from what you'd told me, there should be a Sailor Saturn as well," Takeo said.

Ami nodded. "We … didn't talk about her back then. She was a source of power that we hoped we never had to call upon." She paused before a bitter smile appeared on her face. "Of course, that was all in vain when … something happened …" She stopped again, and he couldn't help but feel as if she were trying to avoid his gaze. "Something … terrible happened—"

Takeo felt something tug at his heart and for a moment, he held his breath.

"—and Sailor Saturn awoke."

"And then?" he asked in a whisper.

A difficult expression flashed through Ami's eyes, almost as if she were contemplating whether or not to utter the next words.

"The world was destroyed."

Takeo swayed on the spot, catching Ami's attention. Worriedly, she touched his arm.

"Are you alright, Takeo-san?" she asked.

"What happened?" he whispered.

"What?" she asked.

"What happened? You said something terrible happened. What happened?" he asked hurriedly.

She shook her head, but it hardly registered in Takeo's mind.

"It was me, wasn't it?" he asked, his voice still hardly louder than a whisper. "It was me. It was me and the rest of them … me … Mikio … Junryo … and … and …"

"Takeo-san …"

"There's someone … someone else … there was … there were four of us ... but … but I can't remember," he stuttered. "We … we caused the destruction of the world … your world … my world … our world … we … we did something … I can't remember … I can't remember, Ami-san … but ... but I know …"

"Takeo-san!" Her eyes were wide now.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Takeo knew that she was frightened, but he couldn't stop the words from spilling from his mouth.

"That's why we felt guilt … that's why I wanted to run away … but … Usagi's boyfriend … he wasn't one of you … I'm cautious around you, but … with him … it's unbearable guilt … I did something … I—"

He stopped and he felt as if someone had taken the breath out of his body. Ami's eyes were wide with fear, and her body was softly trembling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if she thought that she had done something wrong, but his mind was in such a mess that he couldn't make himself comfort her.

"Takeo-san …"

"Betrayal …" The word slipped out of him like a sharp sword, slicing through the air. "That feeling is betrayal, isn't it, Ami? It's betrayal. That's why I didn't want to face it. That's why it hurts so much," he continued to say, his whole body shaking now. "Mikio mentioned …"

He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Takeo, please," she whispered.

"Endymion …"

The name slipped out of his lips and he heard Ami's breath catch.

"He's ... Endymion … the Endymion Mikio was talking about," he said softly.

He opened his eyes again and looked at Ami.

"He's Endymion and I betrayed him," he said. "He is my prince and I betrayed him."

* * *

"Jadeite."

He heard someone call him.

"Jadeite."

Slowly, Junryo opened his eyes. The first thing that appeared in front of him was his beloved avatar. After giving it a reassuring smile, Junryo allowed his eyes to rove over his surroundings and for a moment, he couldn't move.

Red, hot lava swirl around him, threatening to swallow him up and burn him into ashes. The sight was both horrifying beautiful and vaguely familiar, and with fascination, Junryo realized that it wasn't even as hot as it should be. His eyes flickered over to the blue dragon curled around his body, and he wondered if he would've survived had he not called upon his avatar. A wry smile appeared on his face—he supposed it would pretty much defeat the purpose of him trying to reach Elysion if he decided to test out his powers right now, or lack thereof.

He then recalled someone calling his name right before he woke up.

"Helios?" he whispered, almost as if he were afraid that someone would think he was hearing things before he remembered that he was the only person there. In a louder voice, he called out, "Helios?"

A soft, gentle laugh reached his ears before a familiar voice answered, "Welcome back."

Helios's voice was like a gift from heaven to Junryo.

Everything was _**real**_. He wasn't crazy. Takeo wasn't crazy.

Relief washed through him like a tidal wave, and it took everything within him to stop himself from jumping up and down like a five-year-old. Nonetheless, he couldn't stop laughter of happiness from escaping his lips.

If this was some kind of sick dream that his mind cooked up, he didn't want to wake up.

"Helios—You have no idea how long—I don't even know how—I mean—I thought I was going crazy, Helios. Nothing made sense. This wasn't even supposed to be real and I just followed my instincts and—I don't even know what I'm saying anymore," Junryo said through his laughter.

"I understand, Jadeite," Helios's calm voice reached his ears.

"Where are you?" Junryo asked, looking around once more. "No, wait. This isn't Elysion."

At least, it wasn't the Elysion that he remembered.

"It's not," Helios confirmed, amusement hardly disguised in his voice. "You're nearly here though. Please continue forward."

Junryo raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a compass on me, Helios, and there aren't exactly any signs telling me which way to go."

Junryo waited for an answer but received none. Then, it dawned on him.

"Oh, right. I have to find my way back, don't I?" he grumbled. "I didn't realize it had to be so literally, you know."

"You know the way already, Jadeite," Helios finally spoke again.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you all say," Junryo said with a huff.

Still, this minor setback wasn't hardly enough to dampen his spirits.

_We aren't crazy, Takeo._

He was here, standing right in the middle of lava with a blue spirit-like dragon curled around his body. He didn't know how much more proof other people would need to be certain that they weren't hallucinating, but it was enough for Junryo. Besides, he had already come so far, and according to Helios, Elysion was close by, too. And Takeo … who knew how much longer he had before those lunatics do something to him? No, Junryo had to concentrate on reaching Elysion as soon as possible.

"I'm going to go back, Helios," he said, a determined look on his face. "I'm going to reach Elysion on my own."

"I know you will," Helios answered.

"And then, I'm going to rescue Takeo, return to Endy's side, repay my debts, and make things right," Junryo declared. "This time, nothing is going to sway me or stop me from protecting him and this Earth."

"I never doubted you," Helios quietly said.

A smile appeared on Junryo's face. "Good. Have a cup of tea and wait for me."

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mako-chan!" Unazuki said .

Makoto flashed her a smile before leaving, and it promptly dropped off her face after the door closed behind her.

" _We'll have to wait until the next full moon."_

Those had been Luna's exact words. She knew why; the full moon would enhance the strength of the Silver Crystal, thereby increasing their chance of breaking through Sisyphus's wards on their first try. The chance of Sisyphus and his minions preparing against their attack would, therefore, be decreased.

Nonetheless, five days was an awful long time when one was worried. Who knew what would happen between now and then? What if they turned Takeo Osaka by then? What if he …

Makoto halted in her steps and squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to think of the possibility of Ami dying.

Luna had reassured them that she was in contact with Ami and everything seemed fine, but Artemis didn't seem as convinced.

" _Who knows if he's pretending not to be converted? Maybe he was tricking Ami-chan in some way or another!"_

" _Artemis, even if you don't trust Osaka-san, there is no reason to doubt Ami's intelligence. She trusts Osaka-san, so I would as well."_

Makoto trusted Ami as well. It was an instinct that had been developed after many years of fighting on one team. Ami was their brain, their go-to warrior when they needed facts and knowledge.

Yet, five days was _still_ much too long. Why hadn't she thought of suggesting that they'd gone to Africa first? Perhaps they would get some clues or hints in regards to how to defeat Sisyphus. Not that she didn't trust Mamoru's memories …

Okay, maybe she was a bit wary about what he recalled from the Golden Kingdom. The fact that he had been brainwashed so many times did not help. Other than that, who knew what other powers their enemies had gained? They didn't reincarnate, which meant that they had years and years to hone their skills, regardless of whether or not they had target practice.

As if on cue, she saw a familiar-looking man walking down the street towards her, a frown firmly in place on his forehead. He seemed distracted and she was proven correct seconds later when he looked upwards and met her gaze. The look of confusion might have been funny if it hadn't been tainted with suspicion and hadn't dissolved into realization and defeat after he saw Fruits Parlor Crown behind her.

The smirk on Makoto's face promptly turned into a sneer. Did he think that she would stalk him or something?

Perhaps it was for this reason, or maybe it was because he actually pretended he hadn't seen her as he crossed paths with her, but the word slipped out of her mouth.

"Coward."

His whole body stiffened and he halted in his steps.

"Perhaps you should celebrate that fact then," he said through gritted teeth before he forced himself to move forward.

"I should celebrate? For what? For the fact that the future husband of my princess is devastated because none of his so-called friends are returning to him? Or because of the extra amount of workload I'm getting because of incompetent Terran soldiers?" Makoto asked with a sneer.

Narushi stopped once more. For a moment, Makoto wondered if he would ignore her, but then he turned around. His eyes were far more tumultuous than she had expected and an emotion she couldn't decipher was present on his face.

"Don't—" He stopped in his words and closed his eyes.

As if he were opposing his thoughts, he shook his head. Makoto wondered if he were attempting to suppress his anger. Their previous encounter had led her to believe that the man was about as mild as an active volcano, so she was already rather surprised he hadn't lashed out at her yet.

A short moment later, he looked at her in the eyes. "Leave me alone."

The request was so different from what Makoto had expected that she let out a short laugh before she gazed at him in disbelief. "That's it? I thought there was some pride in being a Shitennou. Is that all you're going to tell me? To leave you alone?"

A muscle in his jaw twitched and Makoto knew she'd hit a nerve. However, his reaction surprised her yet again.

"Yes," he said before turning around and walking away.

The conversation ended so abruptly that her mouth fell open. By the time she'd recovered from her shock, he was nearly half a street away from her. Something inside her snapped and she ran forwards until she was right behind him.

"You know that you can't run away from your destiny like this," she said, following behind him. "I may not like the idea of the Shitennou fighting alongside with us, but I know that some things cannot be changed—"

"Is this what it's about? You want us to return to Endy's side just for us to fall victim to the dark powers again so you can gloat that we weren't strong enough to control our minds?" he demanded, spinning around and glaring at her.

For the second time that day, she stared at him in shock. It quickly changed into anger. A loud crack caused wariness to enter Narushi's eyes as he stared at the now darkened streetlamp. Several people on the street let out gasps as they stared at the burnt out source of light.

"It is within my _**right**_ to not trust you. It is within _**reason**_ for any one of us to worry that you might get brainwashed again, but it's crossing way over the line to accuse us of wishing that any of you will fall again."

The warning in her voice was pretty clear. The calmer side of her mind urged her to keep her temper under control. The street lamp had already stirred up attention; it wouldn't be right for her attract more attention than necessary at the moment. However, try as she might, she couldn't not bring herself to stop glaring at Narushi.

His hands were clenched into fists and his body tense, as if he were ready to fight the moment he needed to. She mentally scoffed at the idea of fighting against him—as if he would stand a chance—and she would really like to see him try.

However, before a confrontation could be made, a scream ripped through the air. As if he were expecting it, Narushi broke off eye contact and whirled around. Before she could ask any questions, he took off.

Makoto's feet moved quicker than her mind. They followed his footsteps, and she knew they were going the right direction, judging from the amount of people who were running in the opposite direction.

Soon, she found out what caused the frenzy.

Trees were lit on fire. The alarms of abandoned cars continued blaring accompanied by the roaring of water, pouring out from where hydrants had been knocked over. Amidst all of this was a young boy around the age of eight and a young woman who couldn't be more than than twenty-five.

If it weren't for the less-than-kind smile on her face, the young woman would've been considered beautiful. She could've even been considered "stunning" if Makoto's attention hadn't been grabbed by the expression on the young boy's face.

It was an expression that stirred up something in Makoto's heart. It was an emotion she knew all too well. She'd seen it inside the mirror every morning, until that fateful day she'd met Usagi and the others. It contained strength that was unnatural for someone his age, it was a maturity that told stories of days where a child had learned to take care of themselves, but none of it could hide or alleviate the loneliness that had taken root in his soul.

She wanted to protect him.

It was the gut feeling she got the moment she looked at him, and though she knew it was impossible for her to transform without attracting attention, she didn't care.

Her fingers flew over to the button on her communicator watch, and without taking her eyes off the scene, she pressed the alert all button.

Narushi stood next to her, and though she wasn't looking at him, she knew he had his focus on the scene in front of them.

Fleetingly, she wondered why he bothered coming here. After all, he'd wanted to stay out of the war, didn't he?

Before she could ask, the young woman raised her hand. Without thinking, Makoto rushed forward and stood in front of the young boy, much to his surprise.

"Leave him alone," she warned, glaring at the young woman.

The young woman raised her eyebrows before she smirked and crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you think that a mere mortal like you can stop me if I don't? Don't say I didn't warn you: Get out of the way before I hurt you, little girl."

That was when Makoto noticed the armor she was wearing.

_Is that … dragon hide?_

Mamoru's warning of Carnelian repeated itself in her mind, and she gritted down on her teeth. A small hand landed on her arm.

She glanced downwards and looked into a pair of beautiful, clear blue eyes.

"Please … she's after me. I don't want you to get hurt," the young boy said softly.

Makoto felt her heart constrict. At that moment, she understood. She knew why this young boy was targeted. It was clear the moment she took in his features, and especially when Narushi was standing at such a close distance. The resemblance between the boy and the young man was indisputable. Though she had no idea how they were related, she knew that the young woman must be here to kidnap this young boy in order to force Narushi into joining them.

After giving the young boy a swift smile, she turned her gaze back to the young woman.

"If you want to hurt him, you'll have to get past me first," Makoto said, her eyes hard.

Surprise momentarily appeared on the young woman's face before impatience caused a sneer to appear on her face. "Have it your way then."

"Stop," Narushi suddenly spoke up, catching their attention.

Makoto ogled at him with widened eyes. What was he doing? For a moment, she wondered if he had any powers left. Judging from what Helios had told them, she would've guessed no. However, if that were the case, how was he going to defend himself? Or did he plan to go with them? Unexpectedly, that thought made Makoto feel sick.

The forlorn expression on Mamoru's face—which in turn, caused Usagi pain—when he found out that one of his Shitennou might had been turned was still a vivid picture in her mind. She didn't want a repeat of that. If she could, she didn't want any harm to fall upon her princess anymore.

"Look at what the cat's pulled in," the young woman said, tilting her head to one side, as the displeasure on her face faded into glee.

Narushi didn't answer her and his face was calmer than Makoto would've expected it to be. However, the underlying caution in his eyes told her that he wasn't going to go with this woman without a fight, causing surprising relief to wash over her.

"So … are you going to come along like the good little soldier you are? Or do you need a bit of convincing?" the young woman asked, her tone of voice mocking.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Narushi said coolly.

"Stop playing dumb with me, Nephrite," the woman snapped, cold fury written all over her face now. "The stars told me this, the stars told me that … I'll be very surprised if you managed to change that awfully arrogant attitude of yours."

If they weren't on opposing sides, Makoto would've laughed at her comment.

"You know what I am talking about. You know who I am. You know why I'm here," the woman said. "It's an upstream battle to fight against your destiny, so why waste the energy?"

Narushi's lips curled upwards into an unpleasant smile. "You were always awful when it came to fortune-telling, Carnelian, so how about you cut the crap and stop talking like you know terms like 'destiny' and 'fate'?"

So she was right, though it didn't make Makoto feel any better. Though she had suspected that the woman was Carnelian, knowing it for a fact caused a sinking feeling at the pit of her stomach. On the one hand, she hoped that the other Senshi would arrive soon. On the other, if Carnelian was as strong as Mamoru had said, would they be able to defeat her? Makoto assumed that defeating a dragon was no small feat, or else he wouldn't specifically warn them about it. After all, it wasn't the first war they'd gotten into.

Carnelian narrowed her eyes. "You know for a fact that you will defect to our side in the end, so why fight it?"

"Is that what you told Kunzite?" Narushi asked instead of answering her question.

Makoto's eyes snapped over to him. From what he said, it meant that Mikio was indeed the last and perhaps the most powerful Shitennou.

There wasn't any humor inside Carnelian's smile. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" Her eyes slid over to the young boy Makoto was standing in front of. "Now why don't you come along before destiny repeats itself again?"

Anger flickered in Narushi's eyes. However, the young boy spoke up instead.

"You weren't there. You have no right to talk about what destiny should be when you aren't even certain of the story itself."

Both Carnelian and Makoto looked at the young boy in surprise.

"Hitoshi—" A look of agony appeared on Narushi's face.

"You …" Makoto whispered.

The young boy—Hitoshi—gave her a reassuring smile before he looked back at Carnelian.

"Nii-chan will not go with you. Even if you capture me, he will not join your side," he said.

Though he spoke with confidence, the gaze he sent towards Narushi was pleading.

_So he's Narushi's brother …_

Makoto couldn't help but wonder just how much Hitoshi knew. Judging from what he'd said, it appeared that he knew that someone was trying to sway Narushi, but … how was it possible? Did Narushi tell him?

"Still a naive little boy. It appears that reincarnation hadn't done you any good now, has it?" Carnelian asked with a click of her tongue.

"You were trapped inside a cave. Like you would know," Hitoshi retorted.

At that moment, more than ever, Hitoshi strongly resembled Narushi, whether it be mannerisms or looks. It took Makoto so much by surprise that it nearly made her miss the fact that he had revealed that he also knew that Carnelian and the others had been trapped in a cave.

A cold smile appeared on Carnelian's face. "Enough to know just how to kill you."

Without a second word, she rushed towards Hitoshi. Before she could touch him, Makoto threw a fist towards her, causing her to dart to the side. With a growl, she made a grab for Makoto, only for the latter to move out of the way.

Before Makoto could react, Carnelian's elbow came in contact with her stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

_She's strong …_

That was the only thought that flashed through Makoto's mind as she stumbled to remain standing, and it took all of her strength and willpower to not keel over.

"Ready to give up, or do I need to beat you to a pulp?" Carnelian asked, her voice laced with sweet venom.

Makoto glared at her. As inappropriate as it was, Mamoru's description about Carnelian flashed through her mind, and for once, Makoto wished that Mamoru's memories about the Golden Kingdom hadn't been so accurate.

"Mars Flame Sniper!"

"Damned Sailor Senshi!" Carnelian snarled as she jumped away just in time to avoid the fire arrow.

With a barely audible thud, Venus landed next to Makoto. "Take Hitoshi and run, Mako-chan. We'll take care of things from here."

"She's very strong," Makoto warned in a low voice, still keeping most of her attention on Carnelian.

Venus narrowed her eyes in Carnelian's direction and gave Makoto a short nod.

Makoto allowed herself to feel slightly relieved; she had always been a good measure of strength, and the rest of the Senshi knew that. As their leader, Venus would take extra precaution. With the other Senshi here, Makoto could make sure Hitoshi and Narushi were safe before she transformed to her alter ego.

"Let's go," Makoto whispered to Hitoshi, who looked at the Senshi before giving her a short nod.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews are love. :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **A/N** : I'm incredibly sorry for the long wait. I'm not very certain about this chapter, but I didn't want you guys to wait too much. I hope that you still find this chapter a good read. Let me know what you think :).

**Chapter 12**

"Damn it," Junryo quietly cursed to himself.

The blue dragon circling around him gave him a baleful gaze, causing him to throw his hands up in the air.

"You can't blame me for cursing, can you? You would think that since I remember how to call upon you, I would remember how to get back to Elysion, but of course, we need to find our way back," he ranted.

He exhaled, blowing a few bangs out of his eyes. He knew that this was as much of a test as it was a punishment. Yes, they were brainwashed, but the guilt of not having faith in their Prince was on them. It was their burden to bear, perhaps for the rest of their lives.

Inhaling deeply, he wondered what he should do next. He had been walking in this area for a while already, and he still hadn't seen any signs of Elysion. After he'd told Helios to go get a cup of tea, the priest hadn't spoken again.

_He didn't really go get a cup of tea, did he?_

That thought came unbidden to his head, and he shook it off, knowing pointless thoughts when he saw one.

Perhaps he should try meditating? It helped him find his past, so perhaps …

"Here goes nothing," Junryo muttered to himself before sitting down and crossing his legs as Jii-san had told him to do.

It was, to Junryo's surprise, much easier than the first time had been.

The memory came back to him unbidden: the green grass that gently swayed with the spring breeze; the castle of the Golden Kingdom shining in a distance; a lone tree with an age-old swing standing just a couple of steps away; and five young men, lying haphazardly on the ground.

* * *

"What if we hadn't become Shitennou?" Zoisite mused out loud, drawing the outlines of clouds with his index finger in the air.

"You'd be a beggar," Nephrite scoffed.

"Shut up."

"In the middle of nowhere."

"Nephrite -"

"Harassing ladies and gentlemen alike."

"..."

"He doesn't need to be a beggar to do that," Jadeite quipped.

"Pfft, you two are just jealous that I'm getting all the attention," Zoisite said with a roll of his eye.

Endymion's soft laughter washed over them before he asked, "No thoughts, Kunzite?"

"... Nothing changes."

Endymion raised his eyebrow while Zoisite and Jadeite stared at him and Nephrite started guffawing.

"Kunzite can't see the difference between a beggar Zoisite and a Shitennou Zoisite," Nephrite said through his laughter.

"Go away," Zoisite growled.

"What do you mean 'nothing changes'?" Jadeite asked, propping himself up on two elbows and staring at their leader.

Kunzite didn't even bother to look at them. "It is part of us. It doesn't matter if we were selected to protect Master or if we were born beggars. It doesn't matter if we were born as a king, a servant, an eagle, or a rat. Being a Shitennou was never a choice or a decision. It's something that cannot be taken away from us. Choosing not to embrace our powers wouldn't change who we essentially are, and that is, the Shitennou."

"I think Zoisite was asking something more along the lines of if we weren't a Shitennou, Kunzite," Jadeite said with a frown.

Finally, Kunzite sat up and looked at him straight in the eye. "There's no 'ifs'. We are the Shitennou. Not being a Shitennou would mean that we would not exist."

Zoisite gave pause before nodding. "True. The powers of Gaea come so naturally to us that I can't imagine or remember living without it."

"It is a part of us. It either exists or it does not. If it exists, then we exist. If it doesn't, then we don't. As long as we exist, we are the Shitennou and that will never change."

* * *

Junryo's eyes flew open. He hadn't fully understood what Kunzite had been talking about all those years ago, but at this moment, he understood. Or at least, he hoped he did.

 _There's nothing to be afraid of_ , he thought to himself, and taking a deep breath, he looked at his avatar, a smile on his face.

"Thank you for bringing me down here. I'll take everything from here. No more hand-holding," he said, his voice low as he ran a hand over the dragon's hair and scales.

The blue dragon let out a low growl, almost as if it were asking if Junryo would be all right.

The smile on Junryo's face grew. "I wouldn't know if I didn't try, would I? Worst comes to worst, you'll just have to wait for me for, oh, about another sixteen years or so. Or when and if I get my memories back after I reincarnate again."

The blue dragon nuzzled its snout on Junryo's face and cast one last look at him before it started uncoiling its body around Junryo.

Things were often easier said than done, and in this case, it wasn't much different. Despite the courageous words he had said, Junryo couldn't completely eliminate the fear that lingered with attempting to expose his body to the lava without his avatar protecting him. His eyes were shut before he could contemplate on keeping them open.

_If I die here, I just made Helios into the Hatter, didn't I? Or the Hare … whatever that Hare's name is, forever drinking his tea ..._

However, he didn't die.

In fact, the expected heat never came. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

His avatar had disappeared, and the only thing left was the lava swirling around approximately a foot away from him. It was closer, but in a sense, it was similar to how it had been when his avatar had been protecting him. Reaching out with his hand, Junryo attempted to touch the lava. However, the liquid bounced away from his hand, always maintaining an one-foot distance away from his body.

Then, the lava slowly turned transparent, as if it were fading away, revealing a beautiful terrain, one that was both familiar and foreign. Green grass blanketed the floors, running for miles into the horizon, and was dotted with multiple colors of flowers that were unknown to the human world. Majestic trees grew in a distance to his right, the lush colors swaying gently with the light breeze. Directly in front of him, however, was what caught his eyes.

Surrounded by yet more trees was a shrine. Its white pillars seemed to pulse a faint golden glow. Each flicker tugged at something within Junryo's heart, and before he knew it, he was running towards it. Laughter filled of happiness and relief fell from his lips as he covered the distance between himself and the holy shrine of Elysion.

Only when he was right in front of the shrine did he stop running, and there, right in front of him, at the top of the stairs, was Helios, just as Junryo had recalled.

"Helios …"

A gentle smile that crinkled the edges of Helios's eyes appeared. "Welcome home … Jadeite."

_Home …_

Yes. He was finally home.

* * *

Makoto ran through the streets, trying to place as much distance between Hitoshi and Carnelian as possible, and ignored the stares that were being thrown her way. She tightened her hold around Hitoshi's hand, almost as if she were afraid that he would suddenly be snatched away by Carnelian. Closely behind her was Narushi. For someone his height and size, Makoto couldn't help but marvel at how smoothly he managed to weave through the crowds. He didn't so much as stumble.

When they turned around yet another corner and ran down into a remote alley, Hitoshi halted in his tracks. Makoto whipped her head around and looked at him.

"What's the matter?" she asked, her eyes darting around the area to check for any potential dangers.

"Thank you," the young boy said.

Makoto ogled for just a second before shaking her head. "It's not time to thank me right now. We have to get you somewhere safe."

Hitoshi shook his head. "I can take care of myself from here. You should go back to them … Sailor Jupiter."

Makoto's eyes widened. "You—" A nervous laugh escaped her lips. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"He knows," Narushi spoke up from beside her.

She swirled around and glared at him. "What did you tell him?"

The look Narushi gave her was disconcerting. However, Makoto was never one to back down.

"I didn't tell him anything," Narushi finally answered, perhaps deeming a staring match pointless in the situation they were in. His eyes landed on Hitoshi again. "Hitoshi … is a Seer."

"What?" Makoto glanced back at Hitoshi in astonishment.

Hitoshi gave her a somewhat bashful yet sincere smile.

"Look, just go back and look for the other Sailor Senshi. I can take care of Hitoshi from here," Narushi spoke up, a touch of annoyance entering his voice.

"And you were doing a spectacular job, right before we found Carnelian and Hitoshi-chan," Makoto snapped.

"If you hadn't badgered me with questions—"

"Excuse you? I? Badgered you with questions? Get your facts straight, moron. I was delivering facts and observations about what a coward you are, not asking you questions," Makoto said. Ignoring him, she turned towards Hitoshi. "Are my sisters in danger?"

Hitoshi hesitantly shook his head.

Placing a hand on his shoulder, she asked, "Will you be safer if Sailor Jupiter protects you?"

Hitoshi frowned but nodded. "But …"

Makoto shook her head. "I don't know if I can defeat Carnelian after I transform, but it is Sailor Jupiter's job to take care of this Earth and its people, _**especially**_ when some people are neglecting their job."

A spark of reluctant amusement appeared in Hitoshi's eyes, and Makoto can almost feel Narushi glaring at her back. She gave Hitoshi a wink.

For a moment, she wondered if Narushi would dare to attack her with her back towards him, or rather, she really, really wanted him to try. It would give her a good reason to beat him into a pulp.

"But I don't want to be a burden," Hitoshi said softly.

Makoto's eyes softened and she ruffled his hair. "Kid, you're too short and skinny to be a burden. I carried people ten times your size up a mountain before."

Hitoshi's eyes widened. "Really? Ten times my size?"

"No," Makoto answered truthfully, causing Hitoshi to giggle. "But I was being truthful when I say you're not a burden. So, don't worry, and just give me a second to transform, okay?"

Hitoshi hesitated and gazed at her with those beautiful blue eyes as if he were asking once more it it would really be okay. Makoto gave him a gentle smile, to which he answered with a firm nod.

She gave him another wink before slipping into the shadows to transform.

* * *

"Takeo-san … Takeo-san, please," Ami whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder.

However, he didn't answer her. A look of utter self-disgust and horror was imprinted on his face, and Ami couldn't help but wonder what was going through his head.

"Takeo-san, please, it … I don't know how much I can tell you, but it's not your fault—"

Something she'd said snapped him out of it, and he started laughing. It was so filled with mockery, disbelief, and anger that for a moment, Ami froze in shock.

"Not my fault? How is it not my fault, Ami?"

His words were so filled with venom that Ami felt as if she had been thrown back in time and she was facing the Dark Kingdom's Zoisite, rather than Naru's older brother and Usagi's friend. For a moment, she could almost understand how the guard of Endymion evolved into that Zoisite.

And it frightened her.

It frightened her so much that she was almost overwhelmed by the urge to run.

_This isn't the Dark Kingdom's Zoisite. This is a man who's hurt. He had been brainwashed back then, so it makes sense for some of his residual personality to make it into his darker incarnation._

The logical side of her mind repeated it like a mantra, willing her fight or flight instincts to recede. When she finally managed to get her emotions back under control, she took a deep breath and looked into Takeo's tumultuous eyes.

"It's not your fault."

"How?" he asked, his voice forced and still tinged with the same acrimony.

"It's not your fault, Takeo-san. Like I said, I don't know how much you remember and I was given specific … instructions to not interfere. I wish I could tell you exactly how but … it's not your fault, Takeo-san," she repeated.

Perhaps it was the sincerity in her words, but the harsh look on his face somewhat receded.

"Because I was brainwashed, Ami-san?" he asked quietly.

Her eyes widened. "You … remember?"

"Not the details," he replied. "But enough to know what I had done." He looked at his hands. "These hands …" He laughed gently. "I had once thought that … I will use my hands to create art, the most beautiful arts, for the world, but in the end, I just painted this planet, the Earth I had sworn to protect, with blood."

"No, Takeo-san," Ami whispered.

"The blood of innocents, Ami. Do you know how many people I had killed?" he asked, his voice so gentle he might've been reciting a love letter instead of condemning himself.

"Takeo-san—"

"I don't even remember anymore, Ami. Maybe it's my mind blocking out that part of my memory? Afraid that fragile little me is going to break down again?" he continued saying.

"That's … that's unfair."

"No, it's not fair. To the people I had betrayed … to the people I had killed," Takeo murmured, almost to himself.

The way his eyes looked at her surprisingly make her blood run cold.

"Takeo-san—"

"No, it's not fair. Regardless of how I repent and attempt to redeem myself, I still hurt those people."

"Takeo-san—"

"And there I was, reprimanding Azurite and the others while I'm not so much better than them after all. Perhaps even worse, given that they hadn't _**betrayed**_ their liege," he spat out.

"That's not—"

"Perhaps that's why they decided to recruit us, because they know that we could easily switch sides," he said mockingly.

Ami's hand reacted before she acknowledged it, or perhaps her mind was too preoccupied with where his train of thought was going towards. The sound of the slap resounded through the cave, reminding her, along with the burning sensation on her hand, what she had just done.

They stared at one another. The seconds slipped by, and while Ami's immediate reaction was to apologize, she felt that it wouldn't sit all that well with her. Takeo didn't speak, almost as if he were waiting for her to talk first. In the end, Ami sucked in a deep breath before starting.

"I'm very sorry … but do you … are you really contemplating on letting them just change you? Are you thinking of just throwing your whole life away just because you'd done something wrong in your past? Firstly, had you even thought about Naru-chan when you made that decision? Had you thought of your mother? What if you were given orders to kill them? You can't possibly tell me that you'd already forgotten that the two of them are currently lying in the hospital, fighting for their lives.

"Secondly, this is not the correct way to make retributions. If I had done something wrong—and before you assume that I hadn't, I had. I had done some things against my will, I had hurt people I loved dearly, and I still regret it, but I know that giving up is not the right way to pay my debts. If anything, it's like a slap to the face for the people you had wronged. It's unfit for a warrior, and it's certainly unfit for someone like you or me.

"As someone who's a soldier, we pay our debts by fighting even harder for the good side and never succumbing to the darkness again. We pay our debts by remembering what we had done wrong and never doing it again. We pay our debts by doing a thousand times, a million times the amount we had done wrong. If you do want to give up right now, I will never forgive you. Prince Endymion will never forgive you."

He stared at her for what seemed like a century. Ami didn't back down or look away, and she knew, right then and there, that no matter what, she was going to talk sense into him. She couldn't possibly let someone like him side with Sisyphus, not after she had gotten to know him.

However, when he finally spoke, the words that fell from his mouth were completely different from what she had expected.

"Good Gaea, you're beautiful."

Ami's eyes widened. Heat traveled up to her cheeks, and she didn't need a mirror to know that she looked no different from a tomato at the moment. She quickly turned her head away from him, attempting to cool her face down and slow down her rapidly beating heart.

It wasn't the first time someone had complimented her, but she still managed to get embarrassed every time someone did.

Of course, Takeo being Takeo didn't even seem to notice her discomfort and therefore didn't give her any time to recompose herself.

"You're right. The last thing I should do right now is give up, and yes, Endy would be extremely cross with me. Though I really doubt he could find it inside him to _**not**_ forgive me, to be honest," Takeo said.

She hummed as an answer, not quite ready to speak yet.

"If anything, he should save his pent up anger and pour it all on Mikio, the damned fool," Takeo continue to say. "I mean, seriously? I used to think he's smart, though don't tell him that please. He'll get too pumped up with his own ego. It doesn't take a genius to know that those folks siding with Sisyphus are nutcases, but noooo, I'm the one who's getting brainwashed."

He fell silent, and Ami knew that it was most likely because she hadn't been properly answering him.

"Er … are you okay?" he asked.

Ami stole a glance at him and quickly nodded her head.

He gazed at her with uncertainty as he absentmindedly scratched the back of his head. Ami then realized that he probably didn't even know what caused her discomfort.

"I … should check if Luna and Artemis called for us," she murmured, pulling her mini-computer out.

She tried to ignore how Takeo sat beside her and watched over her shoulder as she worked.

It turned out that Luna and Artemis had sent a message to her, rather than establish a communication, out of fear that Sisyphus and his followers would overhear them.

"Five days, huh?" Takeo asked softly.

Ami nodded with a frown.

"Reckon we can find a way to break out of here a bit earlier?" Takeo asked in a nonchalant way.

However, Ami could hear the tinge of worry in his voice, causing her to look at him.

Takeo glanced at her from the side of his eye. "What?"

"I won't let them take you," Ami said.

He snorted. "I'm not sure any of us has a choice. Not to say that you're not strong or anything, but mind you, the last time I counted they had Azurite, Tourmaline, the poison guy, Mikio, and Sisyphus. In a foolish attempt to make myself feel better, I'm going to assume that Sisyphus isn't showing up yet because he still doesn't have enough energy to do full-on combats and not because he's hoping for a dramatic entrance. That's still at least four people against you. If Mikio is half as good of a fighter as he was, in addition to having possible magical powers, I'd say he's a rather formidable enemy. I suppose it's also a good time to mention that that idiot also has a pretty intelligent mind, again something you should never tell him should he ever regain his senses and join our side."

For a split second, Ami wondered if he had always been so observant about human nature or if it were because his Shitennou memories were coming back to him. However, in the end, she quickly filed that away as something to mull over some other day because that wasn't the priority right now.

The smile on his face was so careless, but at that moment, it looked like the saddest thing in the world to Ami. She knew what he had said was true and she couldn't help but hoped that there was just some way for her to help him.

Takeo's eyes softened, perhaps because he saw the conflicting emotions on her face. Tentatively, he reached out and held onto one of her hands.

"Listen, Ami-san. When the moment comes, you know what to do. If that doesn't work … if you cannot stop them, you would have to destroy the monster that would take my place."

Her mouth dropped open before she replied, "No."

"Please, Ami-san. I wouldn't want it any other way."

"You can't expect me to _kill_ you," she replied, still shaking her head.

"You won't be killing me, per se," he said, cocking his head to one side. "You'll be saving me."

"It doesn't work that way," she said, jerking her hand out of his. "There must be a way to help you cleanse the darkness if it comes to that—"

"Perhaps there is," Takeo interrupted her, "but can you guarantee that it'll happen before I do something horrible?"

Ami clenched her hands into fists. "You can't keep thinking of pessimistic thoughts like that. I didn't have enough time to study it yet, but I do believe that Sailor Moon will have a way to cleanse you before you do harm."

"Five days, Ami-san. You don't understand how much damage I can do in five days," he said. He pointed at his head. "I don't know how similar I am to my former self, but let me tell you, I am one very intelligent person, and no, it's not bragging when someone's telling the truth. I know what kind of malignant and brilliant plan this brain can come up with. You'll have to nip it at its bud."

Ami squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself to keep calm. She couldn't lose her cool right now, especially when he was already distressed.

"I trust you," she said when she opened her eyes and looked at him again. "I trust that you'll have enough control to stop yourself from doing something li—"

"You don't understand, Ami-san."

"I don't claim to understand everything, but I noticed how we keep ending up in conversations that turn into arguments like this, and it's generated from what you had done while you were brainwashed, Takeo-san. It's unfair to assume that—"

" _ **I don't want to kill you again!**_ "

His outburst was so out of the blue and the content so surprising that Ami froze on the spot, her mouth still slightly open from the last word she had uttered.

"What if I kill you again, Ami-san?" he asked in a soft voice.

His green eyes were filled with both regret and sorrow, but Ami wasn't taking it all in yet.

She stared at him. His words brought back a muddled memory, so deep, so unclear, and so out of her grasp.

It was strange, how memories about her past life had always been trickling into her mind at random moments. However, her death had always been something that her mind flitted over, as if knowing that she had died was all that mattered, and thus, she had never really known _**who**_ had killed her back then.

Had her soul always known? Had her soul recognized the murderer of her past incarnation? She probably did, judging from how easily she had gotten irked by Takeo back in front of the hospital. After all, she had always been hard to provoke.

If that were the case, and she was almost certain that it was, what made this all the stranger was how calmly her mind was now accepting this news. She didn't feel an inkling of hate or disgust towards this young man sitting beside her. She wondered if it were because she had actually gotten to know him, however shortly, or maybe it was because her soul had finally accepted the fact that he had been brainwashed at that moment.

_Was that why he looked at me so strangely when he talked about killing innocents?_

There was no doubts in her heart that it must've been. At that moment, Ami knew he was suffering far more guilt that she had thought. It wasn't just guilt towards Endymion but also towards her.

It was, after all, not easy for someone with a conscious to face someone they had killed, even if it was something that had happened in their past lives.

"It's okay, Takeo-san," she said softly.

He jerked backwards as if he were burned. "How can it be okay? How can you say it's okay?"

"Because it is," she replied firmly. "You were brainwashed at that time, and we didn't know one another. To you, I was someone who was a threat to Earth, your homeland, even before you were brainwashed, which made it easier for you to kill me. But we understand one another now. Even if they do manage to do something to you, I know that you won't kill me again. I have faith in you."

"How can you be so sure?" he asked with disbelief.

"Let's just say that I had more than a little experience with brainwashing and brainwashed people," she said with a wry smile. "I observed Yukimura-san. Judging from his actions, he retained his memory, so this isn't the type of brainwashing that extracts all your memories. Not to mention he wasn't very keen on killing or hurting you. From what I observed, he still cares about you, which is why he wants to convert you to his side of this war."

He didn't immediately answer, but Ami was glad to see that some of the tension on his face finally lifted.

"No wonder they call you the brains of the team," he said before a soft smile appeared on his face.

Ami blushed, but she managed to return his smile.

"So if I get brainwashed, you'll only have to worry about me trying to convert you to Sisyphus's side?"

The implications of his words made Ami's face promptly turned beet red once again.

* * *

Sailor Venus kept her eyes on the woman in front of her. The goddess of love and beauty inside her saw how coy the ruby-red eyes, how plump the scarlet lips, and how silky the long brown hair were; the warrior and leader, however, saw the blood-thirst and calculations. Except for perhaps the still unseen Sisyphus, this woman was probably their most formidable enemy out of the four.

_Unless you count—_

She never got to finish that thought because at precisely that moment, the air next to Carnelian rippled, and through the portal stepped out the man who had been on her mind.

Kunzite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **A/N** : Reviews are food for the muse. :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly, terribly sorry for the long wait. Real life and all had been interfering with writing time. I hope this chapter makes up for it though.

**Chapter 13**

_Oh no. No, no, no, no, no,_ Venus thought inside her mind though outwardly, she didn't show it.

Momentarily, she glanced at Tuxedo Kamen to assess the situation, and she felt her heart sink when she noticed how pale his face looked, even behind that mask. Moon was casting furtive glances towards Tuxedo Kamen as well, and Venus knew her princess must be worried. The unkind smile on Carnelian's face made Venus's skin crawl. It was obvious that the woman was enjoying this confrontation a bit too much.

Venus couldn't completely tell what Kunzite was thinking since he had been expressionless ever since he walked through the portal.

"Where is he?" Kunzite asked.

"I was about to capture him, but of course, your … friends from the past showed up," Carnelian answered.

Kunzite shot them a sidelong glance. If there had been any flickers of emotions inside the man, he didn't show it.

"Where are they now?" Kunzite asked.

"A girl and Nephrite saved him," Carnelian replied.

"So much for being the strongest warrior," Kunzite said, casting her a glance.

Carnelian narrowed her eyes, but much to Venus's surprise, she didn't say anything in response.

"Which direction?" Kunzite asked.

"Going to persuade him yourself?" Carnelian asked, and Venus was pretty certain that it wasn't her imagination that there was a smudge of mockery in her voice.

Lifting a well-manicured hand, Carnelian pointed in the direction that Makoto, Narushi, and Hitoshi had run.

"You'll have to get through us first," Mars said, holding up an arm.

A savage grin appeared on Carnelian's face. "Oh, don't you worry, little girl. Your opponent is me."

"We won't let you abduct anyone else," Moon said, her Eternal Tiare in hand.

Venus turned towards Kunzite, though she still kept an eye on the fight between Mars, Moon, and Carnelian, just in case they needed her help. As it was, she couldn't let Kunzite run off and chase after Makoto and the others, and she doubted Tuxedo Kamen possessed the heart to actually harm his Shitennou even if he had the chance.

Tuxedo Kamen took a few steps forward.

"Kunzite …" he called out softly. "Please, don't do this."

Kunzite's lips curved upwards into a smile. "I don't have time for this, Prince Endymion."

"You don't know what you're doing, Kunzite. I assure you that if you hadn't been brainwashed, you would be horrified by what you are doing right now," Tuxedo Kamen said.

"Horrified?" Kunzite asked. "As horrified as I was by a prince who decided to abandon his people for an alien princess?"

"I never abandoned my people," Tuxedo Kamen answered. "I would never abandon my people. Never mind the fact that it was a thought that never crossed my mind, Serenity herself wouldn't had allowed me to do it. She loved this Earth as much as we do and she would sacrifice her life to save it, just as we would."

"Alien races cannot be trusted," Kunzite said. "Even if she did have a certain amount of loyalty to this planet, that doesn't mean the rest of her people did."

"The Lunarians were always trying to help us! They had done nothing to deserve the attack that was launched on them!"

"Helping us? More like trying to enslave us," Kunzite scoffed. "They saw us as nothing more than a primitive race that can be trained to serve them."

"It was a plot by Beryl and the entity that had been controlling her, Queen Metallia. The Lunarians never wanted to enslave us," Tuxedo Kamen replied.

"Beryl had misplaced her trust in the wrong place, but her initial fear wasn't unfounded. Why else were the Lunarians monitoring our planet throughout the years?"

Kunzite's gaze hardened, and Venus's hand hovered over her chain automatically.

"They were trying to help us," Tuxedo Kamen repeated.

"Regardless, a prince who decides to abandon his people for another race is and always will be unfit to be the ruler of this planet."

The attack came before Tuxedo Kamen had the chance to react. Thankfully, Venus had been preparing for it. It was almost as if she knew that Kunzite was preparing to strike. Her chain whipped out, striking the bolt of dark energy and dissipating it before it could hit Tuxedo Kamen. With a leap, she was in front of Tuxedo Kamen.

"If you're not going to hurt him, go help Sailor Moon with Carnelian," Venus addressed Tuxedo Kamen, her expression hard.

"Venus …"

Venus saw the hesitant look on his face and knew that he was reluctant to cause Kunzite any harm. If she could help it, she didn't want to either, but she wasn't going to let Kunzite hurt anyone under her watch. Without bothering to answer Tuxedo Kamen, she angled her hand in front of her. She heard footfalls behind her and mentally thanked Selene that the man had enough brains to stay out of the way. She really didn't think she would enjoy fighting a powerful opponent while having Tuxedo Kamen making frowny or sad faces beside or behind her.

The smile on Kunzite's face was mocking, causing a shiver to run down her spine. His eyes slid downwards, resting on her raised hand.

"Crescent Beam? Are you sure that would work on me, Sailor Venus?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I don't want to hurt you," she said quietly.

Both for Tuxedo Kamen's sake and …

It was ridiculous, really.

They were never lovers. Sure, there had been attraction towards him on her part, but she never found out (and probably would never find out) how he felt about her before he was brainwashed.

The couple of times they had encountered one another had always been civil, and he had been kind to her. She also thought that she had seen him looking at her from the corner of her eye, but she had never known for sure.

Looking at him right now was a painful reminder of the lovely daydreams that had been shattered by cruel reality. When she had voted for his revival, there was perhaps a small part of her that wished that she could pursue what could've been, but a larger part of her only wanted to see him safe and standing beside Endymion like the faithful general that she knew he could be.

"Thank you for your concern," he said, "but I really do think that perhaps you should worry about your own well-being first." He paused. "After all, I was the one who'd killed you in our previous lifetimes, wasn't I?"

The shock ran through her like a lightning bolt, and the only thing she could see at that moment was the callous smile that was imprinted on his face.

The memories of her past incarnation's death had always been locked away. Her mind or perhaps her soul prevented her from knowing. Therefore, she had always assumed the worst, including the scenario in which she had been killed by the one she had fallen in love with. It had always been something like a dramatic romance to her, something that was always much more tragically beautiful in thoughts and on paper than in reality.

Even worse, the image of how her princess, her dear, dear Serenity, had died in front of her appeared in her mind's eye at that moment.

She would be damned if she allowed that to happen on her watch once more.

Slowly, she blinked once, allowing herself that millisecond to file the emotions away before pulling a mask over her features.

"Perhaps you are correct," she slowly said, lowering her hand until it was by her side with a casual shrug. "Crescent Beam is perhaps underestimating your abilities."

He raised an eyebrow at her words.

A smile appeared on her face and she tilted her head to one side almost playfully. "But you'd forgotten that I had many more years to practice since the last time we'd encountered one another."

Before he had the chance to react, her chain shot out from her left hand.

She would've admired his reaction time in other scenarios; the look of surprise was hardly wiped off his face before he managed to create a dark sphere around him, attempting to stop her chain from hitting him.

"Venus Love Me Chain!"

With more than a bit of pleasure, she watched as the ward shatter under her attack. However, her body reacted before she could think once more, as if she had known that he wouldn't be fazed.

"Crescent Beam Shower!"

He dodged the few that would've hurt him in critical areas but did not manage to get away completely unscathed. He sported, along with a furious expression, a couple of random wounds once the streaks of lights disappeared into thin air. Blood trickled out of them, staining his uniform, and Venus's eyes were caught by it for a split second, almost mesmerized by the way they were a bright shade of red rather than green or some other alien color.

Was that relief she felt? Relief that his blood was red and therefore proved that he was more human than monster? Perhaps, but she knew it was unimportant at the current moment and so she ignored it.

"Or perhaps I hadn't underestimated you as much as I'd thought I had," Venus said quietly, choosing her words carefully.

This was a physical war as long as a psychological one. As leaders to their respective groups, Venus knew it, and she was certain that Kunzite acknowledged it as well.

As she had guessed, instead of getting angered by her words, his expression became reserved. His eyes narrowed, and Venus's hands tightened around her chain. Without him even moving a finger, the brass dragon statue that had been sitting on top of a nearby fountain became twice its size and came to life. It let out a metallic roar as it shot towards her.

Venus jumped in the air, the dragon missing her by a hair's breadth. Reflexively, her chain shot out, striking the dragon. With a loud clang, the chain collided with its head, denting it, but hardly enough to stop it. The brass dragon swerved around and flew towards Venus just as she landed on her feet. She dropped down to the floor, successfully getting out of its way before it could harm her. Thankfully, the brass dragon was much bigger in size and therefore harder for it to change its direction, therefore allowing Venus more time.

However, things got more complicated when a bolt of dark energy flew towards her and she knew it was from Kunzite. Shooting him a glance as she darted to the side to avoid the attack, she was hardly surprised to see him standing there with a cold smile on his face.

"Space Sword Blaster!"

The attack collided with the brass dragon, breaking it into two pieces with a loud clang, and the scraps of metal fell to the ground, immobile once more. With a swish, Neptune and Uranus landed on either sides of Venus.

"Got yourself into a pickle there, Venus?" Uranus asked with a playful tone. Nonetheless, her gaze, which was trained on Kunzite, was determined and serious.

"She was doing fine, Uranus," Neptune spoke up for Venus.

"True, but she really should've been concentrating on hurting him enough so that Princess can heal him immediately," Uranus said in a low voice and with a shrug.

Venus glanced at her, surprised at her words. Everyone had known that Uranus had been against the Shitennou coming back to life since day one, so Venus had always imagined that the woman would've been the first to chase after Kunzite with her sword, threatening to cut him into pieces, when she saw him.

Then, Venus realized why there had been a change of heart and she could've smacked herself for not realizing it earlier on: It was for their Princess.

To all of them, including Venus herself, there was nothing more important than the happiness of their Princess.

"So shall we hogtie him back and give him a good beating or do you prefer Crescent Beaming his ass into the ground here?" Uranus asked.

"Uranus!" Neptune chided.

Uranus grinned.

Perhaps Kunzite knew that it was pointless to continue attacking when the numbers were clearly in the Sailor Team's favors, or perhaps he had other thoughts in mind, but he hadn't continued attacking since Uranus and Neptune had arrived. When Venus looked at him again, an indecipherable look was pulled over his face.

"Until the next time we meet, Sailor Venus," he said.

For a moment, Venus wanted to stop him, stall him until Moon had the time to attempt to heal him, but she knew she couldn't, not with Carnelian present. However, Uranus was right. Kunzite's negative energy wasn't dispersed enough and it would take far too much energy from Moon to heal him.

The air behind him rippled, and he stepped through the portal before anyone could stop him.

Venus stared at the place he had disappeared through for just a second before she placed her concentration back on Carnelian and the others. A small distance away from the fight between Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Mars, and Carnelian, another battle had begun, consisting of Pluto, Saturn, Azurite, and Tourmaline.

Once Carnelian saw Venus, Uranus, and Neptune running to join the battles and no signs of Kunzite, she muttered a curse under her breath. After dodging a fire attack by Mars, she disappeared through a portal as well.

Seeing Carnelian leave, Tourmaline and Azurite soon followed suit.

"Uranus! Neptune!" Moon exclaimed out of surprise. "Pluto! Saturn!"

"Hello, Princess," Uranus greeted with a lopsided grin.

"What … are you doing here?" Moon asked with uncertainty and Venus could almost imagine that she wondered if Uranus was here to chop Kunzite into pieces as well.

Uranus raised an eyebrow. "I'm waiting for Sailor Mars to fry me some Shitennou barbecue, but seeing that he'd escaped, I guess I'll have to wait."

Saturn giggled, and Neptune gave Uranus a withering look.

"We were going to watch a movie," Pluto explained, placing a hand on Saturn's head, "but then we saw people screaming and running away from this park."

"The usual signs of idiots planning to destroy or conquer Earth," Uranus added.

"They're after a young boy," Venus replied. "Sisyphus's people, that is. I guess the boy was some relative of the guy we saw at Fruits Parlor Crown."

"Maeda Narushi," Mars reminded her.

The rest of the people turned their attention towards her. She sighed and an apologetic look appeared on her face.

"Perhaps we should find some place to sit down before we talk," Neptune suggested.

In the end, they decided that HIkawa Shrine was close and private enough for them to discuss the matters at hand.

* * *

After transforming, Sailor Jupiter decided that it was probably a better idea for Hitoshi to stay at her place for the time being, since Sisyphus and his lackeys seemed to be targeting Narushi and him. Narushi seemed like he wanted to protest but then decided against it, probably understanding that it was, indeed, their best option right now. Not knowing whether they were under surveillance or not, Sailor Jupiter first contacted Luna and Artemis to make sure that there was no one following them, using the data and statistics about their enemies Ami had previously managed to upload to the main computer via her mini-computer.

"Are you sure you're going to let him just know where you're living, Jupiter?" Artemis asked, his suspicious gaze trained on Narushi who was looking at the communicator from behind Jupiter.

Narushi promptly ignored him.

"Artemis." Luna gave him a warning glance before turning towards the screen. "You're in the clear, Jupiter. There's no one in the proximity with a higher level of dark energy than fifteen percent.

Jupiter gave her a nod. "Got it."

"I'll monitor the statistics until you reach your home, just to be certain that no one from their side detects Hitoshi, Narushi, or you," Luna said.

Giving her another nod, Jupiter turned off the communicator and looked towards Hitoshi with a smile. "Let's go."

Thankfully, no one managed to track down the three of them and they reached Jupiter's home safely.

After detransforming in the staircase, Makoto opened the door to her apartment for Narushi and Hitoshi. "It's a bit small ..."

She couldn't really tell from what Hitoshi was wearing, but judging from the clothes Narushi had been wearing the couple of times she had seen him, she knew that he must come from a pretty well-off, if not rich, family.

"It's beautiful," Hitoshi said appreciatively as he looked at Makoto's apartment with wide-eyed wonder.

Makoto blushed, not really knowing how to respond since she wasn't certain if he was just being courteous or if he really meant it. She tried not to notice how the apartment looked even tinier with Narushi standing there.

She wrung her hands a bit nervously as Hitoshi stared in wonder at the various pots of flowers and plants in her house. She determinedly ignored Narushi, who had decided to make himself at home and sit in one of the chairs, although it still didn't escape her attention that the comfy sofa now looked puny with him in it.

"Are you hungry?" Makoto asked when they still didn't say anything, deciding a change in subject would be better.

Hitoshi nodded before quickly saying, "But it's not a big deal‒"

"Not a big deal? No, I think that's probably even more horrible than having a beautiful maniac chasing after you," Makoto said with a wink. "Just give me a few minutes. Is there anything you would prefer?"

Hitoshi shook his head with a small smile. "Anything would be just fine."

Makoto tapped her chin with her forefinger with a thoughtful look on her face. "Okay. Just give me a holler if someone breaks through the windows or turn my door into splinters."

Amidst Hitoshi's giggles, Makoto went into the kitchen, keeping her henshin pen in her pocket just in case.

Since she didn't want Hitoshi to wait too long, given that he was hungry, she decided that she would just do something simple. Peeking into the fridge, she found some leftover rice. Nodding to herself, she pulled it out along with some other ingredients.

Within a few minutes, the fried rice was prepared, and while she was scooping it into bowls, she considered not offering Narushi one. However, in the end, the soft side of her won, and she ended up carrying three big bowls of fried rice out into the living room.

"That smelled soooo good," Hitoshi commented.

Makoto felt a twinge in her heart when she noticed with a start that this was the first time, since the moment she had met him, that Hitoshi actually sounded his age. She glanced at him curiously as she handed him a bowl but decided against asking. Turning towards Narushi, she stood there a bit awkwardly for a few seconds, not quite knowing what to say.

"I made extra. Not sure if you wanted some, but if you do ..." she finally said, placing the bowl on the coffee table in front of him along with a spoon.

Narushi looked at her in surprise. Uncomfortable and with fear that he would laugh at her—though if he did, she would definitely beat him into a pulp—Makoto sat down in her favorite armchair and dug into her bowl of fried rice.

"This is ..." Hitoshi said, at a loss for words.

Makoto gazed at him between mouthfuls.

"This is sooooo good," Hitoshi said, a dreamy expression of satisfaction on his face.

"You like it?" she asked, a bit shyly.

"I love it!" Hitoshi exclaimed before he wolfed down his food.

Makoto beamed at him.

"This is witchcraft," Narushi muttered on the side.

Makoto whipped her head towards him, prepared for either a verbal or a physical fight, but she found that instead of looking at her, he was staring at his bowl. He probably felt her gaze on him because he suddenly looked towards her. A faint tinge of red appeared on his cheekbones.

"It's delicious, isn't it, Nii-chan?" Hitoshi asked excitedly.

"That's not … delicious isn't enough to describe it," Narushi mumbled.

The redness on his cheeks spread, and Makoto's eyes widened, surprised that he was willing to admit this even though he was clearly uncomfortable about it. She watched as the two brothers inhaled the meal before simultaneously placing two empty bowls on the coffee table.

"Thank you for the wonderful food," Hitoshi said with a smile.

"Seconds?" Makoto asked.

"Yes! I mean … can I?" Hitoshi asked shyly.

"Of course!" Makoto answered happily. With a bit of uncertainty, she looked towards Narushi.

It turned out that Narushi was looking at her, too, and there it was again, that expression of a child getting their hands caught inside the cookie jar, but this time there was also a fraction of pleading in there. At that moment, Narushi reminded Makoto more of a gigantic-sized puppy than the formidable warrior she knew he could be. Taking pity on the man, Makoto picked up his bowl.

"I need to clean up the wok. So if you don't mind finishing the rest, I would greatly appreciate it," Makoto said.

A happy grin appeared on his face so out of the blue that Makoto was taken aback. By Selene, she knew that he was good-looking, but that smile simply lit up his whole face and changed the whole atmosphere around him. However, that smile disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared, and his face was firmly placed under that rigid look. It was as if he couldn't decide whether he wanted to have a scowl on his face or a look of indifference so he settled for something uncomfortably in between. Makoto couldn't help but feel a teensy bit of disappointment about that. He really was handsome when he was smiling.

"If … thanks," he said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

With a nod and a faint blush on her cheeks, she ducked into the kitchen.

She had known that they were good-looking when they took on their Shitennou form—well, at least she had known about the ones that she had actually saw in the past—but nobody told her about their civilian forms

_Not my fault nobody warned me that they were hot._

Too bad they were so in the "should not, could not, would not touch" zone. She didn't need emotions in the way if she had to vanquish them. It was already hard enough taking Mamoru's feelings into consideration.

After they finished their food, Narushi excused himself to the bathroom. Makoto observed Hitoshi for a short while, wondering if she should ask him the questions that were on her mind. However, in the end, she decided against it. Having a homicidal beauty hunting him down was probably enough to occupy the kid's mind.

Picking up the empty bowls, she ruffled Hitoshi's hair before heading into the kitchen.

Just after she placed the dishes into the sink, her communicator beeped.

"Mako-chan, is everything okay? Did anyone else attack you people?" Usagi asked with concern.

Makoto noticed that she was no longer transformed, so she assumed that everything was under control. If she had time, she would have to ask the others about the details and how they'd managed to ward off Carnelian.

Placing her attention back on Usagi, she shook her head with a smile. "We're staying at my place right now. Luna and Artemis are monitoring the energy levels around the area so that we'll immediately know when one of Sisyphus's people attempts to attack us."

Usagi let out a sigh of relief. "We're having a meeting at Hikawa Shrine."

"Give me the details later. I don't think I can make it."

Usagi nodded in affirmation. "Do you want one of us to go over? Just in case they attack you?"

Makoto shook her head. "I don't think it'll be necessary for the time being. They had no idea who I am and if anything, Sailor Jupiter can still surprise them I think, giving you guys enough to arrive and help while Hitoshi-chan gets to safety."

Usagi nodded again. "Okay. Let us know if you need anything."

"No problem," Makoto answered with a smile before ending the call.

A few seconds later, Hitoshi appeared at the doorway. Makoto gave him a quick glance and smile before looking towards the dishes again.

"Luna and Artemis—um … I guess you can call them our advisors—they're monitoring the negative energy level around my house, so I'll know if someone's attacking. You don't have to be afraid," Makoto reassured him as she squeezed a good amount of dishwashing detergent onto a sponge.

"I know," Hitoshi said in that signature gentle voice that she had come to associate with him. "I know that I'm safe for now." He fell silent and just when Makoto thought that he wasn't going to say anything anymore, he spoke up again. "I'm part of the reason why Nii-chan doesn't want to return to Prince Endymion's side."

Makoto stopped in her motions, surprised by what he had said as much as by the fact that he had decided to bring up the subject himself. Gently placing the bowl that she had been washing back into the sink, she turned around and looked at him.

"If you don't want to talk about it … I don't want to pry. I mean, I'm curious as hell, but—"

Hitoshi interrupted her ramble, "I know, Kino-san—"

"You can call me Makoto if you want. I suppose you know a lot more about me than most people do," Makoto said with a wink.

Hitoshi smiled. "Makoto-oneesan … I just feel that you should know the truth."

"He's not going to stay in the bathroom forever," Makoto said tilting her head towards her bathroom.

"It's my choice to tell you," Hitoshi said, a look of determination in his eyes.

If possible, he looked even more like Narushi than before.

 _Except for the eye color_ , Makoto noted.

While the color of Hitoshi's eyes were similar to that of the sky during a particularly sunny day, Narushi's reminded Makoto of melted chocolate.

"I was his younger brother in our previous lifetime, during the Golden Kingdom," Hitoshi began to explain.

Makoto raised her eyebrows. "It's almost as if you're saying that you're not his brother this lifetime."

"I'm not," Hitoshi answered.

Makoto stared at him in shock.

A small but slightly sad smile appeared on his face. "My parents died when I was young, around three months old. I was brought up by my grandfather, but a couple of years ago, my grandfather passed away and I was sent to find his younger brother, my great-uncle, who worked as a gardener."

His words stirred up something in Makoto's mind, but she just couldn't quite place it.

"When I reached the address, it turned out that my great-uncle had already passed away years ago, but he did indeed work as a gardener at the Maeda residence for a while, well, his whole life, to be exact," Hitoshi continued to say.

"Wait …" Makoto murmured with a frown as the picture in her head became clearer by the second. "Are you saying …?"

Hitoshi nodded. "My great-uncle worked for Nii-chan's family, which was why Nii-chan used his name when he worked under the Dark Kingdom."

"So you're saying …"

Hitoshi nodded again. "My surname is Sanjoin, and my great-uncle's name was Sanjoin Masato."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews feed the muse. :)


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